Switchblade
by 2ndMass
Summary: And when he looked at his hands, all he could see was blood. Rated T for language and violence. Set before Jimmy's death, will not be following the show. I do not own Falling Skies.
1. Responsibility

_All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another._

_- _Anatole France

Hal closed his eyes. The forest around him was quiet, the only sound being the rustling of the wind against the leaves. It was mid-October, or somewhere around that. People had lost track of the days in the midst of this alien apocalypse... He took a deep breath at that thought. Alien apocalypse. Had someone told him a year ago that aliens were going to fly down and take over the world, he would have laughed in their face. Stuff like that just shouldn't happen. It wasn't real. It was something from a TV show, or a book. So why had it happened? That, he thought to himself, is the question of the century.

He thought back to one of his dad's history lectures. Something about how the settlers came and took the land away from the indians. He told him that that was a part of life. A stronger, more advanced civilization comes and replaces a weaker one. Is that why this happened...? Had our time come, had history repeated itself? He tried to tell himself that this was different. It wasn't one group of people moving in onto another's land, it was a group of bug-eyed aliens that flew down and tried to wipe out an entire race of beings. There must be a difference.

But say there wasn't. Say it _was _just history repeating itself, the question still remained. Why had they invaded? The settlers wanted land. But Hal couldn't see the fish-heads coming down and wiping out a completely different planet just to get more land. There had to be another reason, something that they hadn't figured out yet.

Hal rubbed his forehead, getting a headache just from thinking about it. This was ridiculous. Why did it matter _why _they came? The point is they did, and he wasn't going to stop until every goddamned alien was wiped of the face of the earth. Sure, it was going to be a long, difficult road. But he would _never _quit. He didn't see how he could. He felt as though it were his responsibility, as a human being, to avenge his people. Honestly, he didn't understand how any of the able-bodied civilians could choose not to fight. The fire that ran through his blood, urging him to take up arms, was so strong. How could others not feel it? It made no sense.

Oh well, he thought. It's their choice. He'd just have do his best to protect them.

He rose from the rock he had been sitting on. It was getting late, and he had a couple miles walk. Relaxed, he walked through the trees. Had he been doing this a year earlier, their would have been a dozen hikers up here, noisily making their way through woods. Not bothering to appreciate just what they were walking through. Shamefully, he admitted to himself that he probably would have done the same. For him, back then anyway, life was about sports and girls. He shook his head at how trivial that was. He couldn't believe he had been such an irresponsible jerk... It was impossible to imagine him being like that now.

Everyone had changed. Every person, from the fighters to the children, had to sacrifice parts of themselves to fit in with this cold, new world. Maybe it wasn't fair, but that's how this life works. No one can stay the same forever, because no thing stays the same forever. Climates, wars, hell even school, called for people to change. You had to reach down and find the will inside of you to adapt to your situation. Hal believed that everyone had the ability to do so, but some chose not to. And those people are the ones that fall.

Looking back, it was easy to see how he had changed. He hadn't changed a lot, not in his opinion, but he had changed enough to make a difference. The rest of his family were the ones who had really sacrificed parts of themselves. He still clung on to his teenage years, even though he had long since excepted that there was no going back. His old life just seemed so ideal, under the circumstances. He had two brothers, who he loved dearly, and would do anything for, despite the fact that he rarely showed it. He had two loving parents, who were always encouraging, despite the fact that he must have been a disappointment. His brothers were the ones with the good report cards, and never had any 'issues' that needed to be discussed at parent-teacher conferences. He seriously couldn't see how they could look at him with such pride when he wasn't nearly as good a son as Ben and Matt.

Maybe it should hurt to look back at those memories. But it didn't. It didn't bother him to look back at the way things used to be, because he knew that there was no point in feeling bad about it. They weren't coming back, so that was that. You can only move on, and he felt that too was his responsibility. He had to keep his head held high, and sacrifice parts of himself for others.

He felt no anger at this responsibility, it was a simple fact of his life. Put others before yourself. For him, that was as natural as breathing.

A.N. The first few chapters are meant to lay the foundation for the story, so they will be shorter and won't have a lot of action. And the story will have a plot and dialogue, but those will be used more starting at the fourth chapter. I believe that it can make a story better, if you really get to know the character's world view/philosophy. It will be vital for the story's progression and plot.


	2. Family

_I'll never stop dreaming of the day we can be a real family, together, all of us laughing and talking, loving and understanding, and not looking at the past but only to the future._

- LaToya Jackson

Hal sat and watched Matt running around with his friends. His dad, Anthony, Dai and Ben were all ordered on a scouting mission, to locate any possible food stores or harnessing facilities nearby. He was angry when he heard he wasn't going too, but managed to hold his tongue. He would never win an argument against Weaver.

He had missed out on missions like this before, not everyone could go at one time, but it made him anxious not to go when both his dad and brother were going. His 'mother hen' instincts, as his mom had teasingly called it, went on hyper alert when his family went on a potentially risky mission without him. It wasn't like he didn't trust his dad, he trusted him with his life, but he felt so much better when he was there too. That way it could be _him _rescuing his brother, or father, so his family wouldn't be putting their lives in danger. They did that way too often.

"Hal, watch out!"

Matt yelled this as soon as the soccer ball hit Hal's head. Ow.

"Watch it, kid. I bruise easily." He rubbed the side of his jaw.

"Sorry, I'm not too good with my aim when I'm kicking long." Matt walked over to him and picked up the ball.

"No worries," Hal shook his head, smiling. "Just make sure you don't kill anyone, alright?"

Matt grinned. "I'll try my best."

Hal watched as he ran back over to his friends. Matt was a good kid, and he had adapted surprisingly well to the sudden attack. It was just a shame that he had to grow up so quickly. His child side showed more when he was playing, but he normally wore a serious expression on his face. One that looked too old for his young body. He cringed, as he remembered Matt asking his dad if he could have a gun, and Ben teaching him to shoot with it. He was too young. Much, much too young. He shouldn't be worrying about war, or learning to kill. But he forced himself to remember that the world had changed, and that society must change with it. So with reluctance, he hadn't objected when his father gave him a gun. It was important, for God forbid the day ever comes, that when his family could no longer be with him, he would be able to defend himself.

Ben had decided to fight about a week after their dad had boarded the spaceship. Hal didn't like that either, but at least he was older then Matt. So they took it up with Weaver. With his permission, Hal began to teach Ben how to fight. He was a natural, which was do in part to his spikes. He now had the strength and endurance, which was something he lacked in greatly before. And so he felt he brought out the monster. After learning to fight, Ben had... changed. Morphed. His personality altered, until he was no longer the weak, vulnerable razorback, but the serious, dangerous fighter. It hurt to think of his little brother that way. He loved his brother, and knew that inside, somewhere, he was still the same person. And his change wasn't all bad. Hal wasn't saying he had gone evil, he just put on a hard shell. A shell that was hiding the weaker parts of him, making him less vulnerable. Hal wished he wouldn't do that. It almost frustrated him, seeing his brother pent up all the anger, pain and sadness, knowing that by doing so, he was only harming himself. Hal felt that if something similar had happened to him, he would be able to do what he had to do. But Ben was different, and he needed help realizing that. The only question was, how to get it through to him?

That was part of the reason he was so glad his dad was back. It was hard, being both father and brother, and he had greatly missed seeing his dad and being a son. Hal felt that he was being selfish though, wishing that he had someone to lean on, when his younger brothers needed that so much more. But he couldn't help it. He knew that somewhere, deep down, he was still a child. It was just a fact that he refused to admit to himself, or others. Having his father back however, also called for a serious life readjustment. He had spent the last three months taking care of his brothers, and then suddenly his dad came back and ripped the responsibility away from him. It was disorienting, and left him almost in shock.

His whole family, Hal thought, is confusing and unstable. He wished, more then anything, that they could be a real family. That their dad could spend more time with them, that Ben was more of a brother and less of a just a comrade, and that Matt would just be the loving, playful little brother that Hal remembered. But if that would ever come to be again, they needed to get a shit load of work done first. The world is too broken for families, even though they try and cling on as best they can. Some say that this war brought families closer together, and in a sense, yes. He wasn't trying to say that they weren't close, or that they didn't love each other, it's was just that they couldn't be exactly what they were aiming for. They couldn't always laugh together, be together, or fight over stupid, pointless things. There just wasn't time. But Hal knew that someday, if they kept on fighting, those things can happen again. You may not be able to pray for the past, but you sure as hell can fight for the future.

A.N. My plan is to update almost every day, but the weekends are extremely chaotic. So I might post tomorrow, but don't expect it. And Saturday and Sunday are definitely out, unless I find the strength to write at midnight. And just one more foundation chapter after this, then the story will start to take off. Any suggestions that you may have will be thought over and possibly put into the story, if they fit in with the plot I have in mind.


	3. Denial

_A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love_

Stendhal

Tom entered the tent and shook his son awake.

"Hal."

Hal moaned and opened his eyes. "What...?"

"You have patrol with Maggie remember? You're going to be late."

"Shit!" Hal awkwardly climbed out of his cot and started to throw his gear on.

"Watch the language, you can't start cussing until your out from under my roof."

Hal waved him off and hastily left the tent. Why the hell had his dad waken him up _right before_ he was supposed to go on patrol? It made no sense.

Surprisingly, he actually liked patrolling. It was quiet, and gave him some time away from camp. But what he liked most about it was the fact that he could go with Maggie, his 'best friend/partner.' Frowning, he decided that title would have to do for now. Maggie had... problems, as she put it. Whenever he tried to make even the most subtle of moves, she always pushed him away. It left him dumbfounded, because everything he tried had worked for all his numerous other girlfriends. He should have known she would react differently.

It wasn't clear to him when he had first started to fall in love with her. It hadn't been this sudden revelation, it was more of a gradual kind of thing, that just sort of came together. It felt so right, and that thought really surprised him. Maggie was so different then him, so much more experienced. He knew nothing of life outside of his school, while she knew some of the darkest secrets and situations that the world had to offer. It didn't bother him that she knew/experienced these things, or that she didn't have a clean record. No, what bothered him was that he was a child compared to her. He didn't feel he deserved to even be considering a relationship, much less actually try for it.

"Finally. You're three minutes late." Maggie said, glancing at him.

"Oh wow. Sue me." Hal shook his head and started out of the camp.

"You know I would, if we had any real system of law." Maggie smiled.

"Yeah, yeah." Hal said. "You love me too much."

"Like hell."

All jokes aside, Hal thought that maybe she did love him. He certainly loved her, but their relationship was so complicated, that it was nearly impossible to tell what she thought. It was like they were more then friends, but less then lovers. He was forever trying to clear the waters, but had little to no success. She was so damn stubborn, and insisted on keeping a cloud over her feelings. A deep, dark, impenetrable cloud.

"So..." He began. "I hear we're moving out soon?"

"As soon as possible," Maggie replied. "Weaver can't stand to stay in one place long."

"Can you really blame him?" Hal asked, ducking under a tree branch. "I mean, if I was leader of a bunch of refugees, I'd be paranoid too."

"Heaven forbid you ever get that title."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means," she said, "that I'd miss patrolling with you."

"Well that's sweet. Never knew you were capable of a compliment."

"That wasn't meant as a compliment, soldier boy. It was a simple statement of fact."

And so the patrol went. Occasional chats about nothing in particular, and always being separated by a veil of... something. Lack of trust? Mystery? The latter was more likely, Maggie definitely trusted him. Didn't she? Damn, that girl was confusing.

Hal just wished they could be completely honest with one another. He didn't have much to tell, considering he was just a school kid before all this started, but she had everything to tell. He knew that if she just opened up, a whole new world of freedom would be there for her. He wanted so badly to give this to her. To be able to grant her freedom from the terrible darkness that swirled around her mind. Forever longing for release, but unable to penetrate the thick walls she had put up, in hopes that they would protect her. Why couldn't she see it was poisoning her? It was taking away her chances for life, for love. It was making her miserable. Sadly, those walls were so strong, he feared that no matter how long he chiseled away at them, they would never give in. All he needed to do, Hal thought, was get through to her that holding on to the past, being consumed by it, would be useless. You can't make the past go away, so why feel guilty over it?

"We've gone three miles," Maggie said a while later.

"Alright," Hal sighed. "Lets head back southwest, so we can go over more land."

They started to head back, and Hal looked at her briefly. Their relationship had started out as kind of forced, but they had grown closer. Just not close enough for him. He sighed, ignoring Maggie's questioning glance. He was pretty sure, no he was positive, that Maggie felt something for him too. That through the hope the two of them brought one another, love had been sparked. It was a small spark, that needed a great deal of fanning, but it was there. And for now, that would have to be enough.

A.N. So I did manage to post a chapter. And I wrote this in an hour too, I'm quite proud of myself. But anyway, that was the last foundation chapter, and I'm very excited about writing the actual story. It will almost definitely be Monday when the next chapter comes up, because despite only being thirteen, I have work all weekend. So bye for now, I hope you will continue to enjoy the story.


	4. Through Love

_God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference._

-Reinhold Niebuhr

"Hal, guess what?!"

Hal had gotten back from patrol an hour ago, and was just starting to settle down in the tent. He smiled at Matt, exhausted. "What? You finished your homework on time?"

"I wish. No but seriously, it's really cool! Captain Weaver says I get to go on guard duty tonight!"

Guard duty? His thoughts immediately flashed back to his first night as a guard... he gave an involuntary shudder. "By yourself...?"

"Nah, I don't think so. A couple of other soldiers will be helping."

Hal relaxed. Of course he wouldn't be out there by himself, Weaver would never do that.

"Oh well, congratulations. Don't get scared."

"Of course I won't get scared." Matt sat down next to him. "I'll have my gun, any alien that comes near me will get its head blown off."

He winced, then replied, "well hopefully that won't be necessary."

"I hope it will, then I could actually _do _something for a change."

"You do lots of things. We need civilians, they're what keep us going."

"You mean they're what slow you down."

"Matt..." Hal thought for a moment. "What do you think would happen if everyone was a fighter?"

Matt shrugged. "We'd be stronger."

"Maybe. Or maybe not. What makes a fighting unit strong, is having something to fight for, besides themselves. If we were all fighters, we wouldn't have the same drive to win."

"I still wanna fight. Like you, Dad and Ben."

"I understand that." Hal ruffled Matt's hair. "Just don't rush it."

Matt stood up and waved him off. "Okay, I won't. I'm gonna go find Ben." With that, he ran out of the tent.

Hal sighed and laid back. It wasn't like he hadn't known Matt wanted to fight, but he wondered what his dad would think of this. Had he approved it? That was likely, he had allowed Matt to have a gun after all. Maybe he ought to just trust his father's judgement and let it be.

Hal stood up, unable to stay still for any long period of time. He laughed, remembering how, because of this quality, he had been diagnosed with ADHD. He was glad to be off those pills, his friends had told him they stunted a kid's growth. That may or may not be true, but considering the fact that he was barely as tall as his dad and Ben was about his height, he wasn't willing to take any chances.

He caught himself before he headed down memory lane. Stretching, he picked up his gun and threw it over his shoulder. Then he left the tent and headed off to Weaver's trailer to see if anything needed to be done. He would have gone off to see Maggie, but he didn't want to overwhelm her with his constant presence. She was the kind of girl who needed space.

So he made his way to the trailer, and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He obeyed and stepped inside. Weaver and his father were standing next to each other, apparently having just been discussing something important.

"Sorry to interrupt sir, I was just wondering if anything needed to be done."

"Haven't you just gotten back from patrol?" His dad asked, concern in his voice.

"That was an hour ago, Dad."

"Yeah, and you need your rest."

"I'm fine."

His dad's response was interrupted by Weaver.

"If he says he's fine, he's fine. Why don't you go find your brother, Ben? We have something we need to discuss."

What could he and Ben possible need to discuss? But he didn't question him, just nodded. "Alright."

He left and wondered where Ben could possible be. The kid was almost as impossible to predict as Maggie. And say he did find him, what the hell was he going to say? They had an extremely difficult relationship, and Ben obviously didn't want to spend any time with him. This bothered Hal, as he had no idea why he didn't. Ben had been through hell and back, so why wouldn't he want to be around his family? That's what family's did, they supported one another. And specifically, why didn't he want to be around him? Had he done something, said something that he shouldn't have? He didn't think so, but who knew with Ben. The way he looked at him sometimes... it was dark, unreadable. And it worried him greatly. All Hal wanted to do was help his brother, make him realize how much his family loved him. But for some reason, he was getting blocked.

During his search, he spotted Matt once more, loading his gun.

"Matt!" He called out.

Matt turned around and waved.

"Hey buddy. Have you seen Ben?"

"Yeah," he answered. Then he pointed out east. "He went that way, if you're looking for him. He's in the woods somewhere."

"Kay, thanks." He gave him a quick hug and left, heading into the woods.

Considering how Hal went out into the woods when he wished to be alone, he wasn't surprised that Ben liked doing so as well. It was an ideal place, because the camp was always crowded and loud.

He was partly glad that he was given the task of finding Ben. As simple and unimportant as it was, it gave him the chance to maybe start a conversation, figure his brother out. He just hoped that once he was there, he would have the courage to start a real talk. He wasn't scared of his brother, or scared of talking to him. No not at all. But it was hard to actually discuss things with him, and it put both of them in an awkward situation, where one wanted to talk but couldn't find the words, and one wanted to vanish into the background and avoid the whole encounter. But he couldn't just sit by and not say anything, not when he knew he could make a difference in his brother's life. Could he?

A.N. As an apology for me missing the deadline, I will upload two chapters. They were originally one huge chapter, but I decided it would be better to break them a part.


	5. On Hatred's Tides

_Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy._

_- Aristotle_

Ben was sitting down in the woods outside the camp. He liked it there, it wasn't too far away, but it was far away enough that the noises of the camp were dulled. Ever since he had been harnessed, his senses had been greatly improved. It was both a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse.

He leaned against the back of a tree, exhausted, but stubbornly keeping his eyes wide open. Sleep did no good, it only brought back the most haunting, terrifying memories. Memories that no matter how hard he tried to bury them, they always resurfaced. It just wasn't fair.

It was the hatred, the darkness, that kept him going. Had it not been for that, he would have given in to his biggest wish a long time ago. The wish to die, to take his own life, so he wouldn't have to go through this anymore. He will, one day, if the harness's mutation process continued. Turned him into a bigger freak then he already was.

A freak. He knew that was what he was. No matter how much his brothers and father tried to tell him that he wasn't, he knew it was true. And on some level, he was sure they knew that too. There just wasn't any use denying it, no matter how much he longed to just be a normal kid. Not the same weak boy he used to be, but more like Hal. Who was strong, dependable, always his dad's favorite. Jealousy, old and new, threatened to bubble to the surface. It was childish to be jealous of someone else's good fortune, but he was. His brother had always been at the top of the social pyramid. He was athletic, handsome, and had a charismatic personality. Unlike Ben, who had been dorky, awkward, and had athletic skills that rivaled a dying sloth.

Oh, they both had changed. For better and worse. He was stronger now, and more athletic then Hal could ever dream of being. He knew that was a thorn in Hal's side, and it almost made Ben smug. But then he remembered the side effects that came with it. The aliens ability to enter his mind, the poison coursing through his veins. It wasn't worth that. Nothing was worth that.

Did he hate his brother? It was a question that had always come to the front of his mind, ever since he had been old enough to distinguish the differences between how people treated them. And the answer had always been no. His brother was pretty much the closest thing he had to a friend, for a long time. Of course he didn't hate him.

He remembered, in the med bus, when his dad had himself tied to a pole, for fear of the aliens having done something to his mind. Ben had walked up to him and told him his secret, hate. How his hatred of the aliens was what kept them out of his head. And then his father told him that his secret was love. Ben frowned, thinking about it. Love was powerful, but he couldn't imagine it having any value in this case. You must fight fire with fire, fight hate with hate. He didn't know any different anymore, and he certainly didn't want anyone to screw with his entire system. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

But that certainly wouldn't stop them from trying. He sighed, angry at everything and everyone. He admitted that this was probably because he was so tired, but he didn't give a damn at the moment.

"Hey, Ben!"

He heard his brother's footsteps before he actually called out. Even without his advanced hearing, Hal was walking loudly enough to scare alert all the creatures in the forest.

"It's a wonder you haven't been killed on patrol." He said, putting the blank, emotionless mask over his features. He wasn't scared of showing his emotions, he just didn't feel like a long sermon about 'letting it all out' at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Hal asked, walking over to him.

"I mean I heard you barreling through the trees from a mile away."

"Yeah, well... luck is always on my side, I suppose."

Yeah, Ben thought. Always on your side. "I guess. Is there a reason for you coming out here? And how did you find me anyway?"

"Matt said he ran across you earlier, and he pointed out the direction that you were headed. And yes, there is a reason. Weaver wanted to talk with you."

Now what? He wasn't in the mood for talking with anyone right now. "Fine, I'll talk to him."

"Do you know what he might be wanting to talk with you about?"

"No, and it's none of your concern anyway."

"If it has to do with my little brother, of course it's my concern."

"You came, you delivered your message, now leave." Ben was too tired to feel bad about his harsh choice of words.

Hal looked at him, worry and frustration in his eyes. "What's your problem?"

"I want to be left alone, alright? How hard is that for you to understand?"

"Damn hard. You've been pushing everyone away and I want to know why."

"No I haven't."

"You know that's not true."

Ben stood up, angry. "Okay fine. Yes, I have. Happy?"

"No, I want to know what's wrong with you!"

Ben clenched his fists, resisting the temptation to punch him. The anger, the hate, the jealousy, rose with a vengeance.

"Get. The fuck. Out. Of. My. Business."

Hal rose his hands defensively. "Look, calm down Ben. It's okay, I'm just worried about you."

"I don't need anyone to worry about me, thank you very much."

"Obviously you do."

Ben took a deep breath and turned on his heels, walking away from him. "I don't have time for this."

His brother didn't respond, but he could feel his gaze burning into his back.

Did he hate his brother? Oh hell yeah.

A.N. For anyone who may think Ben is out of character, or will think that any future character is out of character, there is always a method to my madness. And on that note, I bid thee farewell. I will update as soon as possible.


	6. The Darkness to the Light

_Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play._

-Immanuel Kant

Hal rested the back of his head against a tree. He didn't know what had happened, or why it had, but he felt like death. What the hell had he done? What had happened, to make his own brother act like this towards him? Ben wasn't exactly the happiest kid in the world, nor was he all loving and caring around other people, but there was something different about his behavior when he was around Hal. And it hurt.

Slowly, he pulled his switchblade out of his pocket, then stabbed the tree, putting all his anger and frustration into the blow. Hal sighed, took it out of the tree and started to walk back to camp.

As he walked back, he looked up at the sky and saw there wasn't a cloud in sight. It seemed like, when you were in a bad situation, the weather should match your feelings. Guess not.

"Hey Hal."

He turned in surprise, seeing Maggie standing there. "Oh... hi."

"Matt told me you were going to see Ben, I saw Ben looking all emo back at the camp, so I figured something was up. And judging by the fact that you don't look any better, I'm assuming I was right...?"

"I guess. Yeah. It's just... complicated."

"Complicated is the definition of my life."

Maggie watched him, waiting for him to speak. After a few moments, he obliged.

"Ben's just different. Angry."

"Well... considering what he's been through..."

"I know, I know!" Hal waved her off. "He's been through hell, but still... I dunno Maggie, if I were in his place... I just don't see myself hating on my siblings, or avoiding everyone. I just don't. So I can't really figure him out."

Maggie thought for a moment, before answering. "When I picture you in his place, I do see you spending time with your family and being around people. But Hal... everyone is different. Everyone reacts differently, to different situations. Some find comfort alone, while others find comfort with others. Apparently, for the most part, Ben prefers being alone."

"But he wasn't like this. When we first got him back. And he's acting especially different towards me, for reasons I can't explain..."

Maggie sighed and shook her head. "I don't have all the answers, I was just giving you my opinion."

Hal nodded. "Let's just go back."

Walking back, Maggie watched Hal. She used to think of him as a kid turned soldier, but something had happened along the road. Something that she can't explain. For her, it was a sudden realization, a realization that someone had found their way into... she didn't want to say heart. That couldn't be right, she had blocked her heart so carefully. No, it had to be something else. But regardless, he found his way into her life, and it came as a shock. One minute he was a child, and the next, a partner. A best friend, and someone who cared for her.

And she cared for him too, as hard as that was to admit. He made her... happy. Set her free. Not all the way, she wasn't ready to be completely released, but he had given her a taste of what it might be like. And it tasted sweet. But she knew that the sweetness would fade to bitterness, she had enough personal experience to know that much.

But maybe part of the reason she didn't want to open herself up, was because she didn't want to hurt him. She wasn't right for him, he was a sweet, innocent boy, and she was a hardened, bloodstained girl. He needed someone like him, who he could actually relate too. He knew nothing of the true darkness of life, and odds are never would. He would never have to know what it's like to give up a child, or have the scarlet stains of human blood on his hands. He was too good for that, much, much too good.

She found it hard to believe, that despite telling him all this, he still thought he cared for her. He still was willing to look past her faults. It was mind-boggling.

She wished she could be grateful to him, for holding her up and not bending under the weight of her problems. And she was, in a way, but he was also making the walls she so carefully built crumble. And that was painful. But it was the good kind of pain, the kind of pain you get addicted to. Almost like when you slit your wrists on the bathroom floor.

Oh well. She had let him inside, and there was no going back now.

A.N. For obvious reasons, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I'm not going to be able to update for a few days, so I wanted to give you what I could. I'm a _COMPLETE IDIOT, _and spent the whole day procrastinating on schoolwork but not writing, so that's why it's so short. I wrote this in twenty minutes. However, this scrap of writing is not without it's worth, and it too will prove to be a very important chapter. And thank you so much, those of you who reviewed this story so far, I greatly appreciate it.


	7. Memories and Pain

_Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever._

-Lance Armstrong

_What was happing? What were they, what were they going to do? He thrashed against his bonds, panic and terror coursing through him. He felt something hot and slimy fall onto his back , and flashbacks of that terrible afternoon came to the front of his mind. The screams, the cries, his own and the rest of the children's around him. Desperately calling for someone, anyone, to save them. But at the same time knowing that no one was going to come. Then, after a sudden stabs of pain, consciousness swirled away. His time had come._

Ben woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat. It took him a minute to calm his racing heart, muttering to himself that it was just a dream. He wished it was.

It wasn't though, it was a memory. His last human memory.

Shaking his head, he stood up and walked over to the mirror, exhaustion racking his entire body. Looking at the mirror, his reflection looked like hell. Flushed face, ragged hair, dark shadows under his eyes. He needed sleep, but he just couldn't do it. Every time he closed his eyes, the same disturbing hauntings roared to the front of his mind. He couldn't face them, not over and over...

He was tempted to punch himself in the face, tell him to get over himself. He could do it, he had to. He had to beat this, had to conquer what had been done to him. So, after putting on his usual mask of calm, he left his room. Sleep was for the weak anyway...

He had talked with Captain Weaver the day before. He wanted to discuss his spines, and the connection he had with the skitters. It wasn't that impolite, and it didn't appear that Weaver was suspicious of him, he was apparently just curious to see if Ben could get any information out of them. He had told him that he was sorry, but he could really only sense their presence. That was half true.

"Ben, Dad wanted to talk to you." Matt said, walking over to him.

"Alright, where is he?"

"Med bus, packing."

"Still?" Damn, he must really like that doctor. "Alright, thanks."

As he walked over, he wondered briefly what his dad wanted to talk about. Had Hal gone off and ratted to his dad about his 'questionable behavior' the other day? That was likely, he thought bitterly. Stupid, probing, arrogant, little...

He realized that Matt was following him.

"Oh, you coming too?"

"Yeah, I want to help pack and stuff."

Ben opened the door to the bus and he and Matt stepped inside.

"Anne, where do you want the anesthetics?" His dad asked.

"Over the top of this bed." She patted the one closest to him, then saw Ben and smiled. "Hi Ben, everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, Matt just said Dad wanted me.." He looked at his dad questioningly.

"Yes, I did." Tom looked at him with concern for a second, no doubt noticing his disturbing facial features. "I just wanted to catch up a bit, you haven't been around camp much lately."

That was it? Go figure.

"Yeah, well, I've been busy."

"With what?"

Ben clenched his teeth. Nobody would understand.

"Just... stuff. Thinking, sorting a few personal things out."

That was true, sort of. Mostly he was just staring off into space, trying _not _to think. He had so many problems, so many things to think about, that he got exhausted just acknowledging them. He was hoping that somehow, by not thinking at all, he could make it all go away.

Like hell.

"Alright then... Do you want to go on patrol with Hal and I tomorrow? I don't think we've done that ever, really." The hope in Tom's eyes almost made Ben feel guilty, as he replied.

"Sorry Dad, not this time. I... I gotta go, I'll see you." Ben quickly left, pretending to not have heard his dad asking him to wait.

He didn't belong here, with his family. Not anymore. Hell, maybe the only human he felt he could be around was Jimmy. Once he got over his little 'razorback' problem, he was actually really cool to hang out with. Jimmy was the only one in the whole 2nd Mass who actually truly excepted him for who he was. He didn't try to push him back into his old ways, or avoid him out of fear/unjust hatred. Ben was very grateful for this, it gave him a breath of fresh air.

And he loved his family, he really did. The only one he truly had anything against was his older brother, and that was the biggest reason he had declined his dad's offer. But part of it was he just... didn't fit in. That was the only way to put it. He was so different, so wrong now, that there was just no going back. They could try to stick the shattered, broken pieces together, but it wasn't going to happen. The harness had stolen everything from him.

Almost everything. Something remained, and it was a fire. A fire of anger, a fire that was going to carry him through and defeat the monsters that tried to defeat him.

A.N. I should be updating tomorrow. And to the couple of people wondering why I hadn't labeled this a Ben/Hal story, read on. This story isn't going to be Ben-centric, but if enough people want me to write a Ben one, I might after this story is over. I apologize for the lateness of the chapter, you guys will be getting one more tonight, and perhaps one over the next couple of days.


	8. May God Preserve Us

_In each family a story is playing itself out, and each family's story embodies its hope and despair_

- Auguste Napier

Hal pulled on his boots, listening to Matt's endless chatter. He was rambling on excitedly about his night at guard, and what he would have done had his team run into any skitters.

"I mean, no skitter can stand up to an AK. It's all, _BAM_, and then you've killed them. A grenade would be even cooler, but Dad won't let me use one of those."

_I wonder why_, Hal thought. "Maybe when you're thirteen you can use one."

"You think so? Ben doesn't."

"Well, Ben's just negative."

"He is, isn't he? It gets pretty annoying to talk to him."

"I know."

Not to mention frustrating. And a little heartbreaking.

"Gotta go kid, I'm patrolling with Dad."

Matt opened his mouth to ask something, then stopped. "Alright, see you."

As Hal walked away, his thoughts drifted once again to Ben. He didn't want to be angry with him, and he wasn't, not really. Just confused, and sad, about why the little brother he loved so much hated his guts.

It wasn't that one conversation they had, that could easily be passed off as Ben just being tired, it was the fact that every time Ben even _looked _at him, his eyes were filled with a unexplainable rage.

Hal spotted Ben at the edge of camp, talking to Jimmy. He was pleased that Ben had found a friend in the 2nd Mass, he hoped it would be good for him.

Taking a deep breath, he started to walk over to where they stood.

Jimmy saw him first. "Oh, hi Hal."

Hal saw no immediate reaction from Ben. "Hi Jimmy. Could I borrow Ben for a moment?"

Ben turned to face him. "If you want to talk, ask me, not him."

Jimmy suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Fine, sorry. Ben, can I talk to you?"

Ben shrugged, then looked at Jimmy, who in turn replied, "I guess I'll see you at dinner then."

Ben nodded. "Bye." He looked at Hal again. "So, what do you want? I've got stuff to do."

"Like talk underneath a tree?"

"What do you want, Hal?"

Hal sighed and glared up at the sky. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to come on patrol with me and Dad, but since you have 'stuff' to do, I guess not."

"Dad already asked me, I'm not going."

"Okay then."

Ben walked away after that, heading off into some random direction. Son of a bitch.

Again, he had remind himself that that wasn't fair. And anger and hatred ate you alive, especially when the target of those emotions was your own family. That might explain _some _of his brother's issues.

Finally, he pushed the troubling thoughts of his brother to the back of his mind, and started for where his father was waiting.

His dad smiled when he saw him approach.

"Ready?"

Hal smiled back, and nodded. "Of course."

He hoped this wouldn't be awkward, he was only used to patrolling with Maggie.

"How are things going?"

"Okay," Hal responded. "A bit slow, but not bad."

"Slow? That's a first."

"We haven't run into any trouble for weeks."

His dad frowned. "That's what keeps me on edge. They must be waiting for something..."

"Like what? Dad, maybe they just haven't found us yet. Good fortune doesn't always have to have a catch, does it?"

"In this world, who knows. Maybe it does."

Tom didn't want their time together to be about the apocalypse, or the upcoming battles. He wanted to spend time with his boy, his eldest son.

"How're things going with Maggie?"

Hal looked startled at this change of subject. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's no secret to anyone that there's something going on between you two..."

"Woah, woah. No way, it's not like that."

"Mm-hm."

"It's not! We're friends, and partners, but no way."

"Never?"

"Never."

Tom hid a smile. "Whatever you say, Hal."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Hal glared at him.

"I never said that."

"But you're thinking it."

"Oh, so you can read minds now?"

Hal rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever. Let's change the subject. How're things going on between you and Dr. Glass?"

Damn, he had kind of asked for that one hadn't he? "Now it's my turn to be confused."

"Don't even try."

"If you're not honest with me, how am I supposed to be honest with you?" Tom quickly switched to another topic. "Did Matt tell you about his night-watch?"

"Down to every last, action-less detail."

Tom laughed slightly. "It was good for him, to get to be like his brothers once."

"Was it really? Don't you think it just made him more eager to fight?"

The war again. "He knows he can't."

"Does he?"

"I wouldn't have let him even think for a second that he could join the war before he was even ten years old."

"I guess not, and he's smart, he'd know he couldn't anyway."

"All my kids are smart. You're mom would be proud."

Hal was silent for a moment. "Yep."

They both went on quietly after that. Hal was never one to doubt his self worth, so Tom was certain he wasn't doing that now. It was just hard to think back to those times. And when they did, it was strange, because they were almost like a dream. An ideal, that would never come to pass again, and was almost impossible to believe it had come to pass before. All the arguing, about stupid things like spots on the couch for TV shows, who got the bathroom first in the morning, and who got the last cookie in the pantry. Things that used to drive him crazy, but now things that he longed for.

He never heard them fight over selfish things anymore. Not even Matt, who was still a young child, ever complained about things, or whined about having to move. It would almost be refreshing if one of them, at one point, ever did something like that. Then maybe he could see his children, instead of his comrades.

Hal, he supposed, could be labeled as a comrade. Matt was more of an adult trapped in a kids body, and Ben... he didn't even know. Every time he laid eyes on his middle son, he looked like he had lived a thousand lives. He had such a huge burden of troubles placed upon his young back, that Tom just wished he could take it all away, place it upon himself. He felt he was much more suited for the job. Ben was his shy, smart kid. Very quiet, socially awkward, had a difficult time relating to people, but was a brilliant student. Straight As, all across the board. It had made Tom so proud, that despite his challenges, Ben still managed to pull through. He just wished he could tell him that.

But he couldn't, because Ben walked away from him. He wasn't the sweet, quiet boy anymore, he was the distant, angry fighter. He will forever regret letting his boy go over to his friends house that terrible evening. If he hadn't, they would all be safe and sound, with no anger and spikes getting in the way.

Hal wasn't like that. He was always loud, confident, and very sporty. He had had at least a million 'girlfriends', and had no problem sticking up for himself and his family. Those qualities, and the fact that he had been with him that night, were what Tom believed to be the reasons that Hal was doing so well in the new world. That he was managing to keep not only himself, but others afloat. The only problem Tom had about Hal, was that he shouldn't have to do all that. He should be playing lacrosse with his friends, and goofing around with his brothers. This war stole not only homes and families, but it had stripped people of their very beings and futures. May God preserve what they had left.

A.N. Okay, so here's how it works. I don't write all Friday, Saturday and Sunday, do to sports and work, and then I write a chapter on Monday afternoon. I finish late and I tell myself I'll edit the chapter a bit then post it tomorrow. Then the next day I completely scrap the chapter and rewrite it. Then, feeling guilty for not having posted the chapter the day before, I write a whole other chapter and post two on Tuesday. Then I tell myself I'll write Wednesday/Thursday, and I don't. That's how it's always been, a vicious yet predictable cycle. So expect two, maybe three chapters every week. I have great ideas for where this story is headed, and I can't wait to write them!


	9. Only The Beginning

_Watch out my brethren, for peace comes with a price, and that price is war._

- Anonymous

"We're moving out tomorrow afternoon."

Everyone at the meeting nodded at Weaver's words. It was about time, they had been here for a few weeks already.

"Why in the afternoon?" Hal asked. "Why not as early as possible?"

"It gives the civilians more time to get their stuff together." Weaver answered. "It doesn't appear that they've been doing so, as ordered." He frowned. "We're getting too comfortable here, the aliens could attack at anytime, and we won't be prepared."

"Aw c'mon, boss," Tector said. "It's been forever since we got some peace and quiet, can't really blame 'em for relaxing a bit."

"This is war, Tector. Slacking off is what gets people killed."

"Captain's right," Anthony agreed, nodding. "We don't have the privilege of relaxing. Not until we get to Charleston."

"I heard they got hot showers in Charleston." Dai said, grinning. "And actual food."

"Not to mention real beds, I sure can't wait for that." Anthony added, high-fiving Dai.

"I heard they got candy factories, amusement parks and magical ponies." Pope said, leaning against the wall. "Yep, Charleston is gonna be heaven in the midst of hell."

"Don't be so negative, Pope." Lyle said. "Why can't Charleston have all that stuff?"

"Because it's stupid," he said dryly. "Some old crackpot flying around in an ancient plane, somehow managing not to get shot, comes and tells us there's a fairyland in South Carolina. What's so unbelievable about that?"

"It gives the people hope," Tom said. "And there's no reason for her to lie to us."

"It seems you've forgotten about that other guy, professor," He answered. "Remember, the guy who tried to harness your brats? Before I saved their sorry asses? Yeah, he had no reason to lie to us either."

"If she had wanted to do something like that, she probably wouldn't send us to a completely different state. Besides, it's the only chance we've got. And about the 'saving', you got yourself shot. I would hardly call you a hero," Tom glared at him.

"That's a fine way to be thankful for me sticking up for them. That's the last time that'll ever happen."

"I was under the impression that you were getting revenge, not saving my sons."

"It was half and half. But because your kids are so pathetically useless, I figured it was my job, as a parent myself, to stand up for them."

"Shut the hell up Pope." Hal stood up, furious. "My 'pathetically useless' brother was the one who rescued _all _of us!"

Just as he was about to reply, Weaver spoke up.

"Hal, Pope, sit down and shut up," Weaver said, shooting glares at both of them. "That was forever ago, and it's ridiculous that you're even arguing about it! Now all of you, tell everyone to start getting ready, or they'll all get left behind! Dismissed."

Hal sent one last glare at Pope, receiving a smirk in return, before he angrily left the room. He decided to put as much distance between himself and the others as possible, to try and calm himself down. He couldn't _stand _it when people insulted his family, so he didn't want to risk hurting anyone other than Pope through his anger. As he was walking outside, he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Just shrug it off, Hal."

He stopped and turned to face his father. "I know, it's stupid to get worked up," He sighed, frustrated. "He's just so..." Hal struggled to find the right words.

"Insulting? Barbaric?"

Hal smiled slightly. "I like the last one."

His father smiled back. "So do I. Now go find Maggie, she said she wasn't coming to the meeting."

"Yeah, I know where she is." Then they said their goodbyes and walked away. Hal supposed he could find the time to kill Pope later.

CcCcCcCc

"I can hear you, just come out here."

So Ben was right after all.

Hal laughed slightly and went over to Maggie. "Damn it."

She was sitting out in the woods, in the same place he liked to go. It was about twenty minutes after his confrontation with Pope, so he was glad she was there to help him calm down.

She smiled and shook her head. "If you want to hang out, you don't have to wait for my invitation. I won't bite."

"Your reputation states otherwise."

"I save the biting for stalkers and losers. You're almost on that list, but not quite..."

Hal grinned. "Am I almost a stalker, almost a loser, or both?"

"Probably both, with all the lame jokes and creeping around in the bushes."

"I wasn't 'creeping around in the bushes,' I was walking over! And I don't tell any jokes."

"Whatever you say, Hal Mason." She laughed. "Whatever you say."

Hal sighed and relaxed on the ground next to her. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining through the tall oaks, and there was just enough of a breeze to create a perfect, calm atmosphere. Perfect place to make another move.

"We're moving out tomorrow afternoon, want to ride with me in the truck?" Too subtle? Not subtle enough?

"I'll have to think about that one..." Maggie looked straight ahead.

"Ah, come on. Please? You know, we could talk and stuff... it'd be like a really long patrol." He couldn't help but feel he was completely failing at this.

"I suppose it would be wouldn't it?"

"Yep. So...?"

She brushed her hair behind her shoulder, purposefully looking away from his eyes. She lost all her willpower at first glance.

"Maybe, I'll have to see if Captain Weaver needs me elsewhere."

Hal frowned, trying not to show how hurt he was. This was her normal behavior anyway. "Fine."

Maggie noticed however, and punched his shoulder lightly. "Don't be like that."

"Then you don't be like that."

"Look. I just need to see if I'm needed elsewhere, alright? If not, I'll go with you."

"It's cool, I understand. No big deal."

"Hal-" She stopped speaking, senses suddenly alert.

"Wha...?" Hal looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then an explosion hit a yard away from them.

Hal yelled and tackled Maggie to the ground, grabbing his gun and firing in a mech's direction. Maggie whipped out her pistol and fired from the ground, her bullets hitting it in the head.

The tree rustled above them, revealing three skitters.

"Maggie, go! Go get Dad!" Hal scrambled to his feet, aiming wildly up at them.

"Fuck, no," she growled and stood up, joining him. "I'm not leaving you."

The skitters dropped from the trees, landing a couple feet in front of them. They were hissing loudly, furious. One took a swipe for Maggie's gun, and she retaliated by slamming it in the head, backing away only when another came to join it. Hal dropped back down to the ground, throwing his gun at the skitters head, making it's attention turn on him. Pulling his switchblade out of his pocket, he rolled away from the mech fire and slammed it up into the skitters mouth. Black, foul blood oozed down his arm, as the skitter screeched and finally fell silent.

Maggie shot desperately up at the mech, before replacing her pistol with Hal's discarded AK. Then the mech collapsed with a final moan, shaking the forest floor. She backed away, suspicious of how easy it was that the mech went down.

After Hal managed to kill the last skitter, he stood, gasping for air and wiping the blood from his mouth.

"They gone...?"

Maggie looked at him, still bloodied and wide-eyed from the sudden attack. "I don't know... there can't just be them..."

"C'mon," he took her hand and started heading back quickly back to camp. "We're going to have to move out immediately."

CcCcCcCc

Tom lay down on the ground, staring at a monopoly board. Matt grinned and said, "You landed on Atlantic Ave., that's mine."

He shook his head and gave Matt the money. "Why do we even play this game together anymore, you always beat me."

"Cause I like playing with you."

Tom looked over to where Ben sat. He appeared to be deep into reading a book.

"What are you reading, Ben?"

Startled, Ben looked at the cover of the book. "Um... War and Peace."

Tom's eyes widened. "Really? Out of all our books?"

"We don't have that many." Ben looked back down at the book.

"I suppose so..." Tom sighed, knowing now that he wasn't really reading it. He looked back at Matt. "I have to go, can we finish this tomorrow, on the med bus?."

"Oh... alright." Matt smiled a little at him.

"I promise." He kissed the top of his head then stood with a groan.

Ben suddenly looked at the entryway of the tent, right before Hal came barreling through it.

He looked like a mess, covered in scratches and blood. Horror washed over Tom like a giant wave.

"Hal?!" He grabbed his shoulders, praying to God that he was alright.

"Dad... Skitters... Maggie and I... we've got to go..." His chest was heaving, as he tried to catch his breath.

"Skitters?! How many?! Are you alright?!" Tom pushed him to sit down on the cot, and Ben hastily stood up to get out of the way.

"Dad, I'm fine... but we gotta go..." Hal said, pushing him away. "We have to leave..."

"How many Hal?!" Ben asked.

Hal glanced at him. "We only saw three... and a mech... but they know we're in the area... there have to be more..."

Matt watched the scene with wide eyes, and Tom pulled him closer. "Where's Maggie?!"

"She's telling Weaver."

"He's right," Ben said, nodding. "We have to move out."

CcCcCcCc

It looked like the camp was on steroids. Everyone was rushing around, loading things up into vehicles. It appeared to Ben that he was the only calm one around. He knew that skitters were probably approaching, but he couldn't sense them yet, which was always a good sign. Hopefully they would be able move out before they could strike.

"Ben!" He saw Jimmy running over to him. "We got the bikes."

Damn it, he had wanted a truck. "Ugh, okay."

"Bikes are more fun then pickups anyway."

"Sure, sure. I'll meet you there in a couple minutes."

"Alright, don't be late. We're going in fifteen."

He gave the campsite one last look. For all his luck, they were going to be heading to city. He hated cities. That's where all this started, at least for him... he shook his head sharply, not letting himself have a flashback. Not now, not now... He swung his fist and punched at tree. It was his way of shocking himself out of the memories. The present pain and blood temporarily washed away the old ones.

A.N. I apologize for the consistent lack of updates, but I actually write a new chapter almost every day, and spend a lot of time thinking up new ideas. The thing is, I have a really long, complicated problem involving my computer, which is why posting is so difficult. I have to jump through a lot of hoops, but hopefully I will have more opportunities to update in the future. If things were going my way, you two readers would be getting a new chapter everyday. I thank both of you so much for bothering to review, I truly appreciate the feedback. If there's a certain direction that you wish for this story to go in, feel free to share, I will happily look it over.


	10. Flashback

_Don't hide your troubles my son; for what works temporarily is not the answer to your problems._

- My neighbor, Vik Marnel

Hal stared bitterly out the window of the med bus. His dad and Dr. Glass had forced him to ride with them, so they could check him over and make sure he wasn't seriously hurt. Which was bullshit, because he had told them over and over that he was covered in skitters blood, not his own. But do they ever listen? Of course not.

"Don't look so angry, at least you get to ride with me." Matt sat down next to him on the bed.

"Yeah, that makes it all better."

"Of course it does. Maybe we could play a game?" He looked at him hopefully.

Hal ruffled his hair and asked, "like what?"

"Dunno. I'd say monopoly, but I'm gonna play that with dad later..."

"We have checkers, right?"

"I think so." His eyes lit up. "You always whoop my butt when we play, but it's still fun." He ran to get the game from the back of the bus.

As much as he enjoyed playing around with his brother, he would have greatly preferred talking with Maggie. Something was strange about that attack, it was just so sudden... and yet it didn't seem planned. Had they planned for it, they would have brought a much bigger group, right? And they would have placed their unit in a position to intercept the 2nd Mass. Why would they be in the middle of nowhere?

"Found it!" Matt came back, holding a battered box. "I think some of the pieces are missing, but it should be alright."

"Awesome, I get to be white."

"You were white last time!"

"That was two years ago!"

Had it really been that long since he played checkers with his brother? Great, now he felt guilty.

"Oh well, whatever. I'm white." Matt grabbed the pieces.

And so the evening passed by like that, him and Matt playing game after game of checkers, while their dad and his girlfriend talked to each other in the front.

"So he's okay? And you've checked over Maggie?" Tom asked, driving the bus down the old, abandoned road.

"Yes, he's fine. And I gave Maggie a quick check up before we left, she wasn't nearly as banged up as Hal seemed to be." Anne responded, for what seemed like the twentieth time.

"Good," he sighed. "Sorry, I'm just kind of paranoid."

"Kind of?" She smiled.

"You would be too, if you had three sons constantly getting themselves into trouble."

"It feels like I do." As strange as it was, the Mason boys did feel like her own sons. It was rather surprising, but not at all unwelcome. Ever since her son had died, the day of the attack, she had been longing for a mother role.

Tom nodded, smiling slightly. He hoped, in time, his boys would come to except her as their mother, as she excepted them as her children.

"Are we driving through the night?" Anne questioned.

"That appears to be the case, from what Weaver said."

She sighed deeply. "I know it makes sense, but... I liked having a place to stay. Not having to keep moving, just relaxing."

"We all enjoyed that, but all things change." He clasped one of her hands in his. "At least, most things do."

CcCcCcCc

"Jimmy, take a look at this."

They were riding their bikes slowly behind the long train of vehicles. Jimmy moved his bike right next to Ben's, and looked at the photo on his camera. "Damn."

"I know." Ben looked at the photo he was showing Jimmy. It was a picture of a mech, about to fire, gun pointed in the direction of the camera.

"Dude, how did you manage to take that without getting killed?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm just lucky, I suppose." Ben smiled at the cruel irony of his statement.

"You were lucky that time, but just watch. Next time you'll be taking a pic of a fish-head and it'll rip your face off."

"Not before I rip its off. Lightning fast reflexes, remember?"

"A regular superman, you are."

"I wish."

When he was little, about five, his favorite superhero had been superman. He had superman pajamas that he zoomed around the house in, pretending to fly. He, unlike Hal, had always liked the superheros better then the villains. They were the good ones, who had dangerous powers, but everyone loved them for it. He had always wanted to be like that. And guess what he became?

"Don't you think, I dunno, that maybe moving out so soon was risky?"

Ben was surprised by Jimmy's question. "What do you mean?"

"If they know we're out here, is it a good idea to to go out into the open? On a main road? Shouldn't we have just laid low for a couple days?"

"And be sitting ducks? Like hell. Moving out always has its risks, but so does staying behind."

But sometimes staying behind is what you need to do. Instead of running away, you need to stay and face your enemy... help your friends...

Ben slammed on the breaks with unnecessary force, and stumbled off his bike. No, no, this couldn't be happening...

_Erik stared in horror at the creature in front of him. What the heck was that thing?! Ben wordlessly mouthed for help, to scared to speak with the giant being on top of him. His friend only stared, blank terror on his face, before he took a shaky step backwards, getting ready to flee. And that's when Ben found his voice._

_"No, no! Erik, help me, help me, please!"_

_He didn't even so much as glance at him, he just turned and ran, out of the house, away from him._

_"Erik! Erik!" Ben screamed and thrashed, trying to get away from the spider-like monster._

_But he couldn't get away._

A.N. I'll see if I can get a another chapter up on Halloween. Lol, I can attempt to make it suit the occasion, but no promises.


	11. Delusions and Fear

_Suspicion is bestowed upon someone if his soul is good, and it starts a terrible roller-coaster of regret and lies._

_- Grant Pendelton  
_

Hal sat on a chair, watching Ben sleep. He was jerking slightly, and a frown of pain was etched on his face. Confusion filled him, as he watched with worry. It had been a few hours since Jimmy had brought him onto the bus, flailing and struggling. For supposedly being sick, he had put up one hell of a fight. But with their conjoined efforts, they managed to tie him down on a cot using hospital restraints.

Everyone was extremely worried as Jimmy described what had happened. They had just been riding along, then Ben suddenly fell off his bike and started to have a seizure.

Why was this happening to his sweet, innocent little brother? What the hell was going on? From what Hal, and apparently the others, knew was that something like this had never happened to him before. He would have told them if it had, right...? No. Actually, the chances of that happening were very slim. He was so goddamned stubborn, and he refused to except help when he so obviously needed it. Admittedly, Hal had to accept that he was a little like that too.

"So... is Ben gonna be alright?" Matt looked anxiously at Dr. Glass.

"I think so, Matt. He seems steady, so we'll just have to wait and see."

"Of course he'll be okay." Hal punched Matt lightly on the shoulder. "Remember all that stuff Ben's been through before? Do you really think something like this can bring him down?"

"I guess not, but you never know."

"Of course you know, when it comes to family you always know."

"Grandad died from cancer. You said he'd be alright then too." Their Grandad was on their fathers side of the family, and he had died of lung cancer just two years before the attack.

"This isn't cancer though."

"Yeah, I guess this'll be different."

Anne walked to the front of the bus and tapped Tom on the shoulder.

"You can go be with your family now, I'll take over. Call me if anything happens."

"Of course." He kissed her quickly then walked to over to them. He hugged Matt then slapped Hal on the back. "Why don't you two get some sleep?"

"Not tired," they said in unison.

Amused, Tom shook his head. "It's getting late. I'll watch him, you guys catch up on some sleep."

Matt sighed and glanced back at Hal, who then pretended to agree. "Fine."

Tom sat down on one of the chairs and pulled Matt into his lap. Matt laid his head on their dad's shoulder, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Hal sat back down on his chair, and leaned back. He sure as hell wasn't going to sleep, but he hoped his dad would. He didn't look like he had slept properly in days.

Sure enough, about half an hour later, his dad slowly fell asleep.

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_The spirits had eyes filled with a terrible hate, gazing at him as though he himself was the one who killed them. Their gaunt, transparent bodies swirled around, chilling him to the bone. Closing his eyes tightly, he curled up on the floor. But nothing he did made them go away. They only started to laugh, as a burning fire scorched through him and he jerked sharply on the floor, screaming silently. He begged, prayed internally, that someone would come and take him away. After what felt like hours, he forced his eyes open, desperately searching for some kind of salvation. Then he saw his brother. Hal stood right behind the monsters, and held out his hand, his eyes silently asking him to grab hold. He tried, he tried so hard, but he couldn't make himself stand up. Hal didn't move any closer, he only started to get angry, mouthing at him to move. Ben mouthed back that he couldn't move, asking him to come over and help him. That's when Ben noticed something was different about his brother. He couldn't place it, but he just didn't... look right. Hal stood up straight, and only looked at him, a slightly amused expression on his face. That's when Ben realized what was wrong. His eyes, his normally friendly, warm hazel eyes, were a cold, cutting ice blue. Ben looked at him in worry and confusion, and then Hal's face twisted into a cruel smile, and he took a step backwards, melting into the blackness. His laughter echoed through the dark as he left Ben in the midst of hell. _

Ben's eyes snapped open, meeting his brothers concerned gaze. Hate and fear flooded through him, and he punched Hal in the face, sending him flying into the wall of the bus. Shocked and slightly victorious, he saw a small shelf of supplies topple over and smash, landing on top of Hal. That's when Matt woke up with a yell.

The bus screeched to a halt, jerking sharply off road. Dr. Glass ran from the front of the bus, stopping in front of Ben's cot.

"Ben, what the hell happened?!" His dad put Matt down and fell to his knees, pushing the broken shelf off of Hal.

Ben could only stare at his brother's half-conscious form, disoriented at the elation he felt.

"The fuck..." Hal's eyes were unfocused, part way looking at his dad.

"Hal, hold steady all right?" Dr. Glass turned to Tom. "Help me get him to a bed."

Tom nodded and hauled Hal to his feet.

"'M fine..." He staggered, trying to push him off.

"No you're not, don't fight me." His father's voice was shaky as he set Hal down on one of the beds. Then he reverted his gaze back to Ben. "What happened?!"

"He... he was..." Ben stared at the floor, feeling ashamed. It had just been a dream, like all those other times...

"He was what? What was he doing?" Tom stared into his eyes, waiting.

Ben shook his head. "It was a dream... I just woke up, and... I don't know."

Dr. Glass looked at him with pity and worry, and nodded. "It's alright Ben, I'll check you out after Hal."

Tom nodded in agreement with Anne, then hugged him. "It'll be okay, everything will be okay."

"What... damn it..." Hal placed a hand weakly against his bloody forehead. "Fuck this..."

"Don't talk, Hal." Dr. Glass forced his hand away. "Let me look at you."

Hal's head fell to the side, eyes blank. "God damn... like it just... he just..."

"Ssh, stop talking son." Tom walked back over to Hal and glanced anxiously at Anne. "Concussion?"

"Obviously... but that's probably all, besides a few cuts and bruises. It would be ideal to give him an x-ray, but with my limited equipment, that's all I can diagnose. His pulse and heart-rate are fine." Anne noticed Ben's stiff posture, as he purposefully looked away from everyone. "He's going to be okay, Ben."

That was the problem... but was it really? Would it really be a good thing if Hal was permanently injured? Ben was frightened for a moment that that was what he actually wanted. "I know." He replied calmly.

Matt stood silently off to the side, staring at the blood and glass on the floor of the bus. Their dad pulled him closer, keeping one hand rested on Hal's chest.

"Why does this stuff happen to us?" Matt asked quietly, still looking at the floor.

That caught Ben's attention, and he turned slightly. "What do you mean...?"

"Mom got killed, you got harnessed, Dad got taken. Now you're sick and Hal's hurt. It's not fair."

Tom answered, "but it always gets better."

"Some of the time." Matt pulled himself away and hugged Hal. "Hear that? You have to get better."

Hal laughed very slightly. "What...? That's..."

"Enough." Dr. Glass finished firmly, pulling a curtain around his bed, blocking them out. "He needs rest."

Tom and Matt sighed and backed away reluctantly, leaving Hal to rest. Matt walked by Ben's bed, casting him a scared, worried look. Ben faced the wall again.

"We'll figure this out Ben," his dad promised. "Don't feel guilty over things that aren't your fault."

Oh, but he wasn't feeling guilty. Quite the opposite, he almost felt... happy. And that was what made him sick to his stomach. "Yeah..."

Anne felt his forehead, checking for signs of fever. "Do you know why you're here?"

Ben shook his head quickly, not wanting to think back on it. He couldn't have another flashback. "No."

"Okay then... Jimmy said you had some sort of seizure, or panic attack, and then you blacked out. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was showing Jimmy something. A picture."

"Have you ever had an attack like this before? Where you can't remember what happens during a certain amount of time?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Have you been feeling sick at all? Have you been sleeping correctly?"

Yes, and no. "No and yes."

Dr. Glass nodded and checked over him again, almost robotically. "You seem to be okay now... do you remember the dream you had?"

What did that have to do with anything? "Um, no. Not really. I just woke up, saw Hal, and was surprised. It was all instinctual."

"Understandable, I've done that once before. I'll just leave you to get some sleep, okay? You can be released early tomorrow, if you feel up to it."

Ben nodded and watched as she went back to the front, casting Hal's bed a worried glance. His eyes then shifted back to where Hal lay. Though he was blocked by the curtain, Ben could still see his cold, dead eyes staring at him, and his mouth morphing into a twisted smile. Those were the visions that haunted his dreams, night after night after night... He kept telling himself that they weren't real, they were just dreams, but they were so vivid... so real...

He stared at the curtain, imagining the quiet, unconscious form behind it. Innocent, brave, Hal. The perfect child, untainted by the cruelties of this new, alien world.

Again, that hatred, that maddening, inexplicable hatred seared red hot at the front of his mind. He wasn't any of those things, he couldn't be. It just wouldn't be fair, why did he get all the love, all the glory, all the honor? Ben was feared, hated, an outcast. Not Hal.

Ben saw something, glinting silver on the floor. He quietly got out of bed, as to not alert his family members at the front, and he stooped down to pick it up.

It was his brother's switchblade.

Ben looked at it closely. The blade looked newly cleaned, and newly sharpened. He tested it, slicing a deep, bloody cut into his arm. Yes, quite sharp. He glanced once more at the curtain wall, then slipped the switchblade up his sleeve.

A.N. I changed up this chapter quite a bit, deciding to take this story down a slight detour. And I am afraid that this will probably be the last chapter of the week, but I will see what I can do. Happy Halloween!


	12. Don't Tell Anyone

_Be wary, for in making any decision, a decision to blame or to keep silent, think it through. Or live forever with the consequences. _

- Ashley May

Maggie entered the med bus as soon as she heard about Hal's predicament, angry that she heard about _five hours _after it had actually happened. Pushing past Anne and Matt, she opened up the curtain and looked down at him. His breathing was steady, but his head was thick with bruises and bandaging.

"What happened? Exactly?"

"Ben woke up," Dr. Glass began. "He was startled, so he pushed Hal back. It was an all an accident."

"Will he be okay?"

"I think so, so long as more serious brain damage didn't occur..." Noticing Maggie's expression, she quickly added, "but that's not likely."

"You sure? Are you _one-hundred percent _positive that it's not likely? And if Ben just 'pushed him back,' how did he manage to get any brain trauma at all?!"

"Calm down Maggie. I am one-hundred percent positive that the chances of it being really serious are unlikely at best, and he got shoved into a cabinet. Which then fell over. It will be alright, he just needs to sleep."

"That sounds pretty serious to me. It seems like you're more worried about Ben then the one Ben injured."

"Maggie! Ben might hear you!" She whispered sharply. "I know you're worried about him, but don't blame others. It was all an accident."

Maggie looked back at Ben's still form on the bed. "He can't hear me anyway." She sighed and leaned against the wall, resting her hand on Hal's forehead. "But you're right, I'm losing my composure."

She stared down at Hal, his eyes closed and face pale. She prayed, hoping God would grant her mercy, that Hal really would be perfectly alright, and that she was just being melodramatic. It wouldn't be the first time.

"He'll be fine, Dad said so." Matt said, clinging on to the illogical belief that whatever a parent says must be true. Maggie supposed that once, a very, very long time ago, she would have believed the same.

CcCcCcCc

Keeping his eyes closed, he listened to their conversation. He supposed, if he were to be fair, Maggie was right. It was his fault, he was perfectly able to control himself. But he didn't, he threw his brother into the wall, maybe bringing serious injury upon him. And he was damn happy about it. Ben felt sick again, and held back the need to throw up.

He fingered the switchblade hidden in his sleeve. He wasn't positive why he had grabbed it, but he knew it had something to do with his older brother. He didn't want to think back to whatever dark thoughts had swirled in his brain at that point, he didn't want to think about hurting his brother. His goddamn, motherfucking perfect older brother... Clenching the knife tightly, he pushed those thoughts away again to the best of his ability. Sure, Hal was a naïve, over-exhaulted child, but he surely didn't deserve... whatever he had picked up the blade for. Surely not.

A low moan came from the bed behind him, and he sat up in a flash. His brother blinked, eyes unfocused.

"Wha...?"

"Hal?!" Maggie looked down, anxious.

Hal didn't answer right away, trying to regain his bearings.

"Does anything hurt...?" Dr. Glass walked over.

"Head..." He answered, looking over his shoulder back at Ben. "What the hell was that for...?"

Ben wasn't sure if he was relieved that his brother remembered what had happened, or upset that he wasn't injured further. "Didn't mean to."

"Yeah, alright..." He forced himself to a sitting position, holding his head.

Maggie frowned and pushed him back. "Hell no."

"Just wait Hal, you have a concussion." Dr. Glass said.

"Concussion...?" He gazed, confused, at the cabinet that had yet to be put back up. "That hard...?"

"Yes. Now just stay lying down, and _don't move. _I'll go get your father." Anne walked back up to the front, and Maggie grasped his hand tightly.

"Don't go to sleep yet," she said softly, watching his eyelids start to close.

"Kay," he answered.

Ben sat quietly, wondering if he had an an aneurysm. He had a friend once, Amy, and she had been hit by one of her team-mates in the head with a baseball bat. She appeared to be alright for a couple days, then one night she fell asleep and never woke up. Considering how hard Ben had pushed him, he figured that wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

"Hal?!" Their dad came running back, hugging his son gently. "Are you okay?"

"Course.." He replied. "Just hit my head a bit."

"That was hardly, 'just hitting your head.' But I'm glad you seem to be doing alright." Tom still looked at him with worry.

"I'm really sorry about that Hal," Ben apologized smoothly. "I should have controlled myself."

"Don't go blaming yourself, Ben. It's not your fault." Their dad said sharply at the same time Hal said, "It's fine."

Maggie glanced back at Ben briefly, not commenting.

"I suppose." Ben nodded once then stood up. "Can I go back with Jimmy now?"

"Ask Anne first, but it should be okay."

Ben walked up to the front, leaving the three of them to talk. "Dr. Glass...?" She spoke before he could ask.

"It should be alright, I don't think there's anything wrong." She gave him a quick warning glance, briefly taking her eyes from the road. "But if you feel off, in anyway, report _straight back. _And don't think I won't be checking on you."

Ben forced a smile, and nodded. "Yes ma'am. And where's my bike?"

"Back of the bus. Weaver said we would be pulling over briefly, so we can get it out then."

Ben nodded again, and glanced at her gratefully. "Thanks." Then he walked back, told his dad he'd be free to leave soon, and lay down on the cot. He closed his tired eyes, but tried not to let himself go to sleep. Having another flashback would surely keep him on the bus longer, and the sooner he left the godforsaken vehicle, the better...

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Hal was glad when his father and Maggie stopped talking to him. His head felt like Thor's hammer had cracked it open, and he felt like he was about to pass out. Ben had really done a number on him.

Trying to get comfortable, he closed his eyes. He didn't blame his brother, he just had a nightmare after all. Things happened. Plus, it was over with anyway, so why worry about it?

God, it hurt to even think... Hal squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, trying to block out the lights from the bus. Then he found himself lost in a blissful sleep.

CcCcCcCc

Matt stood up silently, waiting until his father and Maggie were asleep. It was about an hour since Hal had woken up, and they had decided to turn out the lights and get some sleep. He was happy, because he wanted to see his brother by himself.

Walking up towards Hal's bed, he realized just how small the bus actually was. When they had first gotten into it, it had felt like one big adventure, and seemed really long. Now it was short and narrow, and left him feeling caged in. He couldn't wait until they reached the new campsite.

"Jock..." Matt whispered, using his old nickname for his brother. Hal didn't respond, already asleep.

Annoyed, Matt sat down in a chair next to him, leaning onto the cot. He just wanted his family to be all together, and all happy. He had already excepted that his mom was never coming back, as much as it pained him to know that, but he figured that at least the rest of them could be together. But no, his dad and Hal were almost always either missing, (in his father's case,) or hurt, (in Hal's case.) And Ben avoided them. He felt like he was the only Mason left, and it made him feel awfully lonely. That was part of the reason why he wanted to become a soldier, then he could spend a lot more time with all them. Whether they liked it or not.

He saw a shape move on the cot in front of Hal's. Alarmed, Matt ducked behind Hal's bed, and peered around the side, into the hazy darkness. The shape sat up, head appearing to look side to side. With a rush of relief, he remembered that Ben was on the bus. He almost exposed himself and stood up, when he saw the glint of a knife in Ben's hand. At least, he _thought_ it was a knife, he couldn't really be sure.

Ben stood, completely silent. Then he just stayed there, looking down at Hal's bed, unmoving. Matt wondered if he was sleep walking.

He heard Ben mutter something angrily, and saw him grip the knife tighter, eyes never wavering. Matt hardly dared to breathe, praying that Ben, if he was indeed asleep, would wake before anything happened. He hugged his knees tightly, frozen solid when he took a shaky step closer. Ben wasn't stable nowadays, he had heard his dad say it himself. He knew that everyone was worried for him, Matt knew he certainly was, and he was especially worried now. Was Ben gonna snap? Like earlier? No he wouldn't... people didn't hurt other people when they walked in their sleep. They did stupid things like lie down in the bathtub, or toss pillows around. That's what his mom told him, when Matt was scared he would hurt someone while sleepwalking. But maybe it was different for people who weren't stable?

Matt wasn't willing to take any chances, so despite his fears, he stood up and ran quickly over to Ben, grabbing his wrist.

"Ben, why are you still awake?" He asked shakily. Only Ben's eyes moved, looking down at him.

Matt nervously eyed the blade in his hand. "Isn't that Hal's...?"

No response.

"Well isn't it?"

Nothing.

Matt wasn't willing to let go, he had to get Ben back to bed before anything happened. "You look tired, you should go lie down."

Ben unfroze, and relaxed his limbs, putting the knife in his pocket. "Yeah, I suppose."

Matt nearly laughed in relief. "Good."

Ben walked back over to his cot, and looked over his shoulder before lying down. "Hey Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone."

"Huh...?"

"I was just thinking, I wasn't going to do anything. So don't tell anyone, alright?"

"... Alright."

A.N. Well, considering I wrote this in a hospital at three in the morning, half stoned, I'm quite proud of it. Anyway, thanks so much for the review, follow, and favorite. I truly appreciate it, and if all goes to plan, I shall be updating either tomorrow or later today.


	13. Cold

_If one is truly to be sorry for someone else, they must grasp what the person is going through. Even if that means taking their own journey into the cold, cold world of misery._

- Kaden Trent

Hal turned his head to look around the tent. Seeing that the cost was clear, he carefully sat up, resting a hand gingerly on his forehead. He felt like Thor's hammer had smashed through his skull.

Taking a deep breath, he set his feet on the floor and stood up slowly. It had been four days since he was slammed into the wall, but he was still feeling the effects.

Shakily, he took a step forward. Then another. Then another. Maybe he'd be able to leave the camp without anyone noticing? Obviously he was fine, just like he'd spent the past couple of days insisting.

"Uh... I know it's really none of my business, but are you supposed to be doing that?"

Hal narrowed his eyes at Jimmy before replying. "As a matter of fact, I've been cleared by Doctor Glass."

Jimmy shrugged, stepping fully inside the tent. "Well that's good." He looked around the tent for a moment. "You know where Ben is?"

"No, but he's probably off in the woods somewhere. Avoiding everyone," Hal sighed. "Like usual."

"He's not so bad you know," Jimmy defended. "I know you don't like him much, but he's just been through a load of crap and needs some time.."

Hal smiled. "You got that backwards, kid. I like him fine, he's the one who doesn't like _me._" He frowned for a moment, before further answering. "But you're right, I'm sure he'll snap out of it."

"I'm sure he will. I mean, not fully or anything, dunno if that's even possible, but maybe he'll get better."

"He's my brother. I'll make sure gets better." Hal walked over to the exit of the tent and slapped Jimmy on the shoulder. "If I run into him, I'll let you know alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, that'd be great."

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"But Anne, do you really think that's the best idea?"

"No, but it's the only option we've got."

"It sounds... risky."

"We're doctors," Anne said. "When is our job ever _not _risky?"

Maggie leaned silently against the wall of the med bus. She was half listening to Anne and Lourdes's argument, and half thinking about Hal.

She was completely opposed to having him moved to his family's tent. She knew he would try and 'escape' as soon as he was left by himself. But Matt was _supposed _over there, and she was sure he wouldn't let him leave...

"Maggie, would you go check on Hal please? If he's doing alright, tell him that he's allowed to walk around."

Maggie nodded at Anne and walked out of the med bus, into the cold, crisp air.

She was glad that Weaver had decided to stop. But it had taken some convincing.

"_I'm just not comfortable with it. Those goddamned aliens could be right behind us for all we know..."_

"_But they're not, Weaver." Tom answered patiently. "We've sent out patrols, they're not anywhere near us."_

"_Just because they aren't on the roads, doesn't mean they aren't around, Tom." Weaver growled. "It's that kind of attitude that gets men killed."_

_Maggie sighed before speaking up. The Captain was way too paranoid lately... "It's been silent everywhere. Not a single trace of them. Just because we happened to run into a small patrol in the woods, doesn't mean they're hunting us down."_

"_But they might be. Which is precisely why it's too dangerous to stop yet."_

"_We're almost out of gas." Pope interjected. "We need to use the remaining fuel as ways to keep he smaller trucks running, so we can go find more."_

"_That's right." Tom agreed, fingering a pencil. "It's dangerous, yes, but more dangerous then running our of fuel on the middle of a highway?" _

_Weaver paused, thinking. It was clear that he didn't approve of the idea, but he had to do what eh had to do. _

And stopping had turned out to be a great idea, just like she had thought. Again, no signs of the aliens. What had happened in the woods, that was just a fluke.

At least that was what she was trying to convince herself.

"Hal," she opened the tent. "How-" She stared at his bed, which predictably was empty.

"Hal. Mason."

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Matt sat uncomfortably down on a make-shift bench, watching his friends play around. He hadn't felt right, for the past couple of days.

He wanted so badly to trust his older brother, to believe he was alright, but he knew he wasn't. They all did.

"Hey Matt." He turned slightly to see Maggie walking towards him.

"Oh, hi Maggie. How's Hal?"

Maggie rose an eyebrow and looked down on him. "Shouldn't it be me asking you that question?"

"...Huh..?" Matt stared at her in blank confusion.

"It was your turn to watch him."

Oh. Crap.

"I forgot!" He stood up in a hurry. "It can't be that big of deal though, right? He says he's fine.." Matt eyed her with doubt.

"Yes, he says he is, but you know him. It's probably all a lie." She laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going back to the tent. "It's too late now, he's already escaped somewhere." She growled something underneath her breath before continuing, "he can't have gone far though, let's go find him."

Hal was _gone_? What if he had run into Ben...? And if Ben wasn't stable again...

Guilt and fear rolled in his stomach, as he walked stiffly off with Maggie. They were probably just irrational feelings, he told himself.

He trusted Ben.

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Almost robotically, he rubbed his back against the tree. The skin around his spikes was starting to itch again, and he hoped to quell the discomfort before it started stinging.

He was off in the woods, as usual, as it was the only place that granted him any peace. Ben loved the smell of the air, and the openness of the area around him. It helped to clear his mind, and give him the comfort of knowing he would be able to run, if anything jumped out at him.

He always felt like something was about to attack him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, the fuzziness and airiness that comes about when someone gets surprised. Even now, Ben found himself jerking his head to the side, his heart skipping a beat.

He couldn't shake the thought that someone was watching him.

It wasn't normal, he knew that, but he also had this gut feeling that it was what was keeping him alive.

That, and his hate. His terrible, terrible hate, that kept him fighting. He would have given up long ago, had he not found that inner fire.

At first, he was just swimming in confusion. He had tried to deny what had happened, and thought that maybe if he just smiled and acted normal, everything would _be _normal.

Then his dad was taken by the aliens.

And there was just no use denying it anymore.

So instead he learned to unleash his rage, and focus it towards the creatures that took his life, everyone's life, away from them. And at first that had felt so good. To be able to take up arms, and finally reveal what he had become, to both himself and others.

But even that soon became not enough.

And even now he didn't know why.

So he just decided to continue on. To continue killing skitters, to continue embracing his anger, in hopes that maybe he could bury the emptiness he felt in the pit of his stomach.

He was still in denial that that wasn't working. He had known, deep down, that it wasn't working from the very start.

Even when it reached the point that he decided to take some of the anger out on those closest to him, figuring that if they felt his pain, they would begin to understand it.

But that didn't work either, and he hated it _so damn much. _

Hal, he figured, should understand better then anyone. They were pretty close in age, only separated by two and a half years, and they ought to, as brothers, have a connection that he lacked with others.

But Hal, damn him, was even more clueless then they were!

He pretended to understand, but he could tell, through the blank, pitying way he looked at him, that he had no damn idea what was going on. He didn't get how much Ben hurt every day, how much sorrow and guilt he had pent up inside. He didn't get how Ben could feel all these things, when nothing that happened was actually his fault.

Why? Why the hell couldn't he at least try to understand? At least make _some attempt _to get what his brother was going through? All the pain, the constant guilt, the constant sense of self loss...

Ben sank down to the ground in pain, and rocked back and forth on his heels. Someone was watching him, someone was watching him...

"Who the hell are you...?" Ben whispered hoarsely into the air. "What do you want...?" He closed his eyes tightly. "What do you want, because I have nothing to give..."

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Hal walked through the woods, happy to get away from that blasted tent. Why were they treating him like an invalid? He banged his head against the wall, big deal. He wasn't dying or anything.

He supposed that he had to cut his dad a little slack though. He would be pretty paranoid about his kids too, if he was a father in this kind of world.

Someday, he figured, he would like to be a father. He had accepted the fact that he probably wasn't going to live that long, but it was nice to dream.

He wanted a little blonde, curly-haired girl, like his mom had been. He would name her Rebecca.

Hal smiled and shook his head at his foolishness. Having children in this world was vital for humankind, but it was also very dangerous.

And of course, as he had said, he probably wasn't going to live that long anyway.

Walking on, he found himself going deeper and deeper into the woods. And it was getting colder and colder.

Tightly clutching his coat around himself, he walked numbly on. Ben was probably out here, he needed to find him...

And if he wasn't out here? If he was back at camp, and talking to Jimmy right now?

Well, then he was freezing himself for no reason.

After another fifteen minutes or so, Hal sat down on the ground, cursing himself for his stupidity. Ben didn't need to be found, if he was indeed out there, he would come back in his own time.

Damn his mother hen instincts.

Hal rubbed his hands together, hoping the friction would keep him warm. The only thing worse then the growing cold was the fierce pounding in his head. Maybe he should have listened to his dad and Doctor Glass after all.

Forcefully, he used a low hanging to branch to pull himself up off the damp ground. He look around the misty, icy forest, thinking of how it reminded him of a horror movie.

And just like a horror movie, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

Yelling in surprise, he swung his fist, only to have his arm be wrenched downwards by someones hand.

"Relax. It's me." Ben let go of his arm, and Hal stumbled back away from him.

"Wow," Hal laughed slightly. "Bro, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"What a shame that would have been," he replied calmly, smiling a little.

"Trust me, you've done enough damage."

"I suppose."

There was a slight, hesitant pause, both brothers unsure of what to do or say next.

"...What are you doing out here? It's freezing." Hal said, rubbing his hands together again.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I was looking for you... and just trying to get away from everyone. It gets pretty cramped, being stuck inside a truck or a tent for days."

Ben's eyes flashed darkly in his direction, before he diverted his gaze to the icy ground. "I can imagine."

Hal nodded once, taking a step back. "Should we head on back...? It's cold out here, and only getting colder..."

"I'm not cold."

Hal frowned. "Well then... lucky you."

"I'm not lucky."

Hal opened his mouth to reply, but Ben beat him to the next words.

"I hate it. I hate it when people call me lucky. For all things I can do now, and for all the things I can't feel. Like the cold."

He stared into his younger brothers eyes. He looked like a living hell. His eyes were dark and chilling, and the bruises underneath them were changing from purple to a vivid black.

"I'm sorry.." Hal was at a loss for words, not knowing what to do when his brother was in this state.

"Don't say that." Ben's eyes flashed again, as he took an angry step towards him. "Don't you _dare _say that!"

"I..." He stood, rooted to the spot.

"I hate it when people say they're 'sorry.' You're not sorry. That's just something your kind says, when they want me to shut up."

"No, that's-"

"True!" Ben interrupted, fury gathering inside him. "That's true, I know! How..." He took a deep breath. "How... can you possibly be sorry... when you can't even understand what you're saying you're sorry about...?"

Hal shook his head, unable to make any sound.

"How?!" Ben took another step and shoved him angrily. "How, damn it?!"

He staggered backwards from the blow, still not able to get anything through his dry throat. He wondered, numbly, what the aliens could possible to do someone, to change them so... horrifically. To take away the very core of who they were, and make them so cold.

Cold as ice.

"You don't have an answer." Ben backed away, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I knew you wouldn't have an answer..." Ben slumped back against a tree, staring at Hal, who in turn looked him in the eye, expression filled with loss and pity. The pity that Ben hated so much.

"Now what to do with you...?" Ben almost smiled, still staring deeply into his brothers eyes.

Hal coughed and cleared his throat, before speaking hoarsely, "let me go. Let's just go home Ben..."

"Home? We don't have one. They took everything away from us."

"No they didn't, Ben. We're still here, aren't we? We're alive, aren't we?"

"What's the point of being alive? What are we going to accomplish here? We have no futures in this barren land!"

"We have a family! We have humankind! We have so damn much, why the hell are you too blind to see it...?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back.

Ben's expression changed from hopeless anger, to disgust and disbelief. "I'm the blind one...?" Ben let out a half hysterical laugh, standing up straight. "I'm not blind, Hal... you are. You're so pure, so innocent... you always have been. You know _nothing _of this world. Don't pretend you do, don't pretend to be some strong leader. You look for goodness where there is none, this world is rotten to the very core! Because of my kind. Because of who will soon be everyone's kind."

Hal's regret turned to anger. "You're giving up then? Is that it? Or have you decided to join them?!"

Ben punched him the gut, sending him flying into a tree. Hal banged against the bark and onto the freezing foliage of the forest floor. He rolled over onto his side, coughing and choking from the force of the hit.

Ben shook violently, and swung his fist again, this time hitting a small tree and sending it down to the ground, with a crunch from the impact and a rattling from the branches.

Then he didn't say a word, he just suddenly stopped shaking, and his eyes cleared. Steadily, he walked over to Hal and held out his hand.

Hal stared at his hand, unsure of what to do. With a sigh, Ben reached down and pulled him up gently by the arm. He made sure Hal was steadily on his feet before backing away.

His older brother stared at him in blank confusion, feeling whiplashed by his apparent mood change.

"Anyway, you're right. We'd best be getting back, hadn't we?"

Hal nodded slightly, and picked up his switchblade from the cold ground. It had fallen out of his pocket when he was thrown into the tree.

Ben eyed it for a second, then turned away and started to walk back towards the camp.

Hal followed behind him, guilt and worry eating at him the whole way back. He wasn't exactly sure what just happened, but he knew part of his little brother's fury had to with him. And despite everything he had taught himself, he couldn't help but feel at least a little responsible. After all, it was his job to protect his family, and he had obviously done a terrible job when it came to Ben. He knew that if there was some way to reverse their roles, so that it was Hal who had to go through whatever horrors his sibling had gone through, he would gladly take that opportunity.

But there wasn't. So what could he do?

"And by the way..." His brother's harsh voice whispered in his ear, once they reached the hillside by the camp. "If you tell anyone what happened... I _will_ kill you."

And so his little brother left him, shivering from the cold of the air, and the cold of his brother's soul.

A.N. SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I have so much crap going on in my life, it's unreal. But I'm back, and that's what matters, right? Hopefully I'll have another chapter posted by tomorrow, it's already mostly written, but I need to polish it up. If you have any questions/ideas/complaints, I would be more than happy to look them over.


	14. Loss and Vengence

"_Sometimes, the hardest things to find are the things that were never lost at all."_

- J.J. Barns

Staring at the frozen ground, Matt followed Maggie silently. They were going to find his father, because it had been an hour and they still hadn't found Hal.

What if Ben had got to him first?

No, he told himself. Ben was their brother, he would never hurt anyone.

Snapped or not.

So he continued through the icy wind, clutching his jacket around himself tightly. The sky had darkened considerably in the past hour, and jet black storm clouds rumbled in the distance. He hoped they would find both Ben and Hal before the storm hit.

Maggie brushed her long, damp hair back behind her ears. She looked sharply from side to side, the wind stinging her face and causing her to squint through the darkness.

"Do you know where your dad might be..?" She asked, still trying to peer through the gusts of wind.

"I-I don't know... maybe he's with Dr. Glass," he suggested, stuttering in the cold.

"You know the way there?"

"Yes."

"Okay, listen," Maggie grabbed his shoulder. "You go to Dr. Glass, and I'll go deeper in the woods."

"You think Hal's okay?" Matt looked at her with wide-eyes, desperate for any form of comfort, even if she wasn't aware of Ben's incident.

Maggie laughed slightly and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he's okay. He's Hal."

That was what he was afraid of.

"You're right." Matt gave her a fake smile then turned on his heels and ran back to the camp. It wasn't far, they had only gone to the very edge of the surrounding woods.

Careening past the guards, they gave a start and called his name, but he didn't stop running.

Breathing in heavy gulps of the icy air, he barged through the med bus door. Lourdes saw him, and grabbed the back of his dark jacket, alarmed.

"Matt? Hey, hey, you okay?" She stopped him from trying to push past her.

"'M fine, where's he? My D-Dad?" He surveyed the bus quickly, disappointed to see he and Lourdes were the only ones on board.

"He went to another meeting with the captain. Why do you need him?" She stood up off the ground, and released her death grip on his coat.

"I don't need him, my brother does. Hal snuck off somewhere, he has a concussion, now he's gone, and it's storming, and cold, and Ben-"

"Woah, slow down," Lourdes interrupted, motioning for him to sit down. "Start over."

"H-Hal left the tent, like he wasn't supposed to. He's fine, he has to be, but we need to get him back to the tent, and we can't cause he's missing. It wasn't for long, that we know of, but it's storming, and he has a concussion. Ben's gone too, but he always runs off, so no one's really worried about him. And we're not worried about Hal either, cause he's going to be fine like always. But he has to come home."

Lourdes looked visibly flustered, and she raked her fingers through her hair. "Um... yeah, this is one for your dad." She smiled weakly and grabbed his hand. "Let's see what he thinks, alright?"

Matt nodded, adrenaline pumping through him as he dragged Lourdes through the steely med bus door, and back out into the ice.

The frozen grass crunched underneath their feet as they half ran towards Captain Weaver's trailer. They pushed pass a couple of civilians, of whom complained hoarsely. But Matt paid them no mind as he started to bang on Weaver's door.

Scuffling and scraping of chairs could be heard from inside the trailer, as well as several voices, as Matt and Lourdes heard someone's footsteps come towards the door. The door was opened a crack, only to be opened fully when they were recognized.

"Professor," Pope said, turning back around. "It's a kid of yours."

Tom looked at Matt in surprise, and said something quickly to Weaver, before walking over.

"Matt? What's going on, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Hal's somewhere in the w-woods Dad, and we can't find him. Or Ben."

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If anyone deserved a worst parent of the year award, it would be Tom Mason.

At least in his eyes.

They were in the middle of an alien apocalypse, and he was letting his youngest wander around in the middle of a snowstorm, and his two eldest stumble around in the woods, both brain damaged in their own way.

"The woods? Why is Hal in the woods?! He was on bed rest!" And he should have known he wouldn't listen...

"I don't know dad, but he's gone. And I'm scared." Tom looked sorrowfully at his youngest, as tears spilled out of his eyes. Gently, he brushed the wetness off his son's face.

"We'll find them Matt. I promise." Tom swallowed, burying his own panicked emotions. For Matt to get this upset, there must be more to this story then he knows...

"Lourdes, if you please, go inform the Captain and Anne. You," he turned to Matt. "You go straight to the tent. Hear me?"

Matt bit back a sound of protest, knowing he would probably slow his father down. So he once again turned and ran, hoping that God would grant him a miracle and his siblings would be at the tent waiting for him.

Tom jogged past Lourdes then took off blindly through the camp. It was small, just a clump of tents and vehicles. There weren't many of the 2nd Mass left, which for once he was thankful for. He needed to reach the woods as soon as possible.

As soon as he made a quick greeting to the guards, of whom recognized him and backed away, he proceeded to race towards the base of the hill.

And right into his eldest son.

"Hal!" Tom smiled and wrapped his arms around him, shocked and relieved. He couldn't believe he had overreacted so badly.

"Hey, Dad," came Hal's muffled replied. Tom pulled back, taking a step away from him. He knew he should start on a rant about responsibility and near heart-attacks, but he was just too relieved that his son wasn't passed out somewhere, freezing to death.

"Where. The hell. Have you been?" Grabbing him again, he didn't even wait for an answer.

He seemed surprised at the his dad's reaction to seeing him, and hesitated. "Um... just walking?"

"Really? You mean like you weren't supposed to?"

Hal coughed guiltily, and shifted his feet. "I guess. But I'm b-better now, so there's no need to k-keep me i-imprisoned..."

In truth, he felt like hell, from not only his headache but from being out in the cold for so long. He was sure he looked like it too.

Tom sighed and looked up into the dark, angry sky. Snow was starting to sprinkle down onto the sea of frozen green that surrounded them, and he noted a definite drop in temperature.

"Even if y-you were better, which we both know you're not, coming out here was stupid and reckless. Everyone back at camp is having a p-panic attack because of you!" Ignoring Hal's mumbled apology, Tom grabbed him and forcefully started leading him back to the camp entrance.

Dai and Anthony, who were on guard duty, snickered slightly at seeing Hal getting dragged by his father. Hal shot them a look before concentrating on not falling flat on his face. His headache was worse then ever, and he was having a hard time keeping his balance.

The camp was quiet. Everyone had turned in for the night, so there were no children running and laughing through the small maze of tents. A white blanket of ice and moonlight had settled over the site, giving it a ghostly appearance.

Both Tom and Hal had never been more thankful to see their make-shift home then right then. Sleepily, Hal immediately dropped onto his cot and closed his eyes.

He didn't notice his siblings watch him in the corner of the tent.

Both with very different expressions on their faces.

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As Ben was walking away from Hal, he felt victorious. Like he had accomplished so much by threatening his once powerful older brother... he was getting way ahead of himself.

He was one-hundred percent positive that Hal didn't view their conflict in the same way he did. In fact, he was pretty sure Hal didn't even know what it was about.

How could he, when even Ben himself didn't know?

It felt good, to take his anger out on someone. Someone from the old world, someone who used to be closer to him then anyone.

But beyond that, he didn't know why Hal was his target. He tried telling himself it was because everything that happened was his fault. But that just. Didn't. Make. Sense.

Ben had his own 'reality' as he put it. He used to be bullied all the time at school, and a way for him to escape from that, was to delve into his own mind. Because no one, no matter how much money they took or how many books they stole, they could never take away his reality.

The reality where he was a powerful sorcerer, or a superhero, who could defeat anyone or anything. The reality where time and matter bent to _his _will, the reality where he was king.

In that world, the world of his mind, he didn't need logic. If he wanted something to be, it was. If he wished for something to be true, it could be.

But he's older now. He's too deep into the outside world, to tainted with the true reality, to ever be able to go back into his own.

So he needed logic. He needed knowledge, because those were the things that helped him survive the real world.

And blaming someone for something they obviously hadn't done, defied everything that kept the world in order. It defied logic and knowledge.

But he needed Hal to be at fault _so badly. _

It _had _to be his fault.

Or it would be the aliens. And Ben couldn't bear that thought, the thought of it being the fault of creatures so powerful and dangerous, that he could never get the revenge he sought.

But he would always know in his heart it was them.

Right then, all he could blame his brother for was his lack of understanding. His blessed innocence that Ben wanted but could never have. If there was some way for him to get his revenge, then to forget all that had happened, or for all to go back to the way it was, Ben would do it without a second thought.

But there wasn't. So he would have to deal with just getting his revenge.

He didn't even notice as his body carried him through the camp and into his family's tent. Sighing, he walked slowly through the small, messy dissaray of board games and bullet shells. Not caring whose cot he fell on, he collapsed onto one and closed his eyes.

Maybe he would be granted a few moments of dreamless sleep.

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"Ben?!"

Ben groaned and forced himself to open his eyes. Blinking wearily, he saw his little brother staring down at him, a mix of relief and fear playing out on his features.

"Where's Hal?"

Seeing his brother's fear escalate, he remembered that Matt had seen him that reckless night on the bus.

"Huh? He isn't back yet...?" He was rather surprised his brother hadn't stumbled his way back by then, he felt like he had been asleep for good few minutes at least. Maybe, somehow, he had managed to get himself lost.

"No," Matt said, looking at him with forced calm. "Where was he?"

"We were talking. In the woods." Ben gave him a smile, and sat up. "He should be back soon, we were right by the camp."

"You sure?" Hope filled the nine-year olds eyes, as he watched Ben with less scrutiny.

"Positive." He grabbed his brother and flipped him over onto the bed.

Matt laughed and struggled to get out from underneath him. But something was still off, in the way he looked at him.

After Ben let him go, he hesitated, having thought of something. "Why..."

"Why what?" He kept his voice as gentle as possible. He didn't want his little brother to fear him.

"If... you were right outside camp... why didn't he come back with you?"

Ben sighed and shrugged. "Dunno, maybe he was off pouting. I beat him in an argument."

"What was the argument about?"

"Our guns, which one was the most accurate," Ben smiled hollowly at him. "Stupid stuff like that."

Matt was about to reply, when Hal stumbled into the room. His hair and coat were covered in snow, and his tired eyes were half closed.

Not bothering to shoot them a glance, he promptly fell onto his cot and fell asleep.

Their nine-year old brother beamed at Hal and hugged Ben tightly, unable to contain his relief and joy.

Ben didn't hug his brother back, but glared subtly at his older brother.

The focus of his rage had returned.

A.N. So, who's tired of Ben's monologues? Haha, I know I have a lot of them, but I sort of use him as an outlet for my angry thoughts. And I take them out on poor Hal.

So there are a number of reason's why I didn't update when I promised-

The only computer I can upload on died

I accidentally deleted my original chapter, (don't ask how it happened)

I literally have an evil teacher, and she caused so much drama that my parents finally got pissed enough at her to just pull me out of school.

Sooooo yeah. But good news! My dear friend TheSongSmith is going to be uploading my chapters for me! That means faster updates, because I don't have to sneak on my old computer anymore! But I will no longer be giving deadlines for my chapters, because something always happens and I'm late.

So if you enjoy Twilight or Glee stories, please check out TheSongSmith's profile, I'm sure you will enjoy her writings!

Merry Christmas to all of you, and I apologize for the lateness and lack of good quality. Any complaints/suggestions are more then welcome.


	15. Descent

"_Sometimes not saying anything at all can be the death of not only you, but those around you."_

-Mattias Rynell

Hal felt terrible. Mentally, physically, and emotionally.

He had woken up that morning with a nasty case of nausea, as well as his usual pounding headache. Then, Matt decided to mention something that should have been mentioned hoursbefore.

"Um... Dad... I think Maggie's still in the woods. She's looking for Hal."

That naturally caused him to tumble out of his cot, entangled with his bed sheets, and demand an answer as to why the hell he didn't tell him that last night. Then his father hauled him back into bed, saying he was confined there for the rest of the year, and that he would go find Maggie.

Infuriated, he demanded that he was the one who should go find her, considering the fact that she was _his _partner, and she was out there looking for _him_, so therefore she was _his _responsibility.

But as usual, his father ignored him and rushed out the tent. But not before shouting over his shoulder to Matt and Ben that Hal was _their_ responsibility, and it would be_ their _fault if he wandered off and got himself killed, because _he _was obviously brain-dead.

Matt looked like he may have started laughing had the situation not been so serious, and Ben... couldn't care less. Not that that was anything unusual.

Hal, trying to push aside the pit of worry and nausea he had in his stomach, thought back to Ben and his 'conversation' last night.

His brother had threatened to kill him.

Ben Mason. Killing him.

Understanding then what his youngest brother was feeling, that may have been extremely amusing if it were not such a complicated, messed up situation.

He was unsure if he should tell their father or not. He would, if he thought it would help Ben, but he was worried that would only screw things up further.

But what if Ben was really and truly capable of hurting him? What if he was capable of more then just shoving him into trees? What if he was dangerous, not only to Hal, but to himself, and the rest of his family?

He was then pulled out of his thoughts by Matt. "I'm really sorry, Hal. I should've remembered. It's just... you were asleep and all... and I was really glad you were back, so.." He looked at him with pleading, Bambi eyes.

Hal raised an eyebrow, looking at his expression. "You know that only works on Ben."

"I thought it was worth a shot. So do you forgive me?" Matt smiled hopefully, but Hal could see the true concern in his eyes, and saw his gaze flash to the tent entrance.

"I suppose." Hal ruffled his hair then sat up, his fear catching up with him. Damn it, what if she was out there, freezing, and he wasn't out looking?!

"It's not your fault. I know you think it is, but it's not." Hal smiled gratefully at his nine-year old brother, but didn't reply. "It's true," He continued. "You didn't go out there to get her lost on purpose, so it's not your fault. Besides, it's way warmer now anyway. The storm didn't last long."

"Be that as it may, it lasted long enough to have probably caused some damage." Ben said this calmly from his corner, staring at a book blankly. "I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't make it through the night."

Hal saw red and gripped the edges of the bed tightly. He always had zero tolerance for baiting of any kind, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to get into an argument.

"She's Maggie," Hal said coolly, staring icily at his brother. "She could single handedly attack an army of skitters and still come out alive."

"Stop lying to yourself," Ben's zombie eyes tore themselves away from the book. "You know it's true."

"I know nothing of the kind, and I won't until Dad gets back." Hal replied, holding his gaze.

Ben smiled slightly. "Okay." Then he stood up, stretching, and walked briskly through the messy floor of the tent. Without another word, he went outside, leaving the two other Mason brothers alone.

"Don't be mad at him," Matt advised shakily. "He's not himself."

Hal didn't reply, he just laid back down and closed his eyes, praying not just that Ben was wrong, but that he would snap out of whatever trance he had gotten himself into.

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Ben was still smiling as he walked through the camp. He found nothing to be remotely amusing, but it felt good to smile. Normal.

He skipped a little, another forgotten motion, and headed blindly over to the camp entrance. There wasn't truly an entrance per se, but it was where the Captain's trailer and vehicles were positioned, so it was treated as such.

There, he saw Dai and Jimmy laughing about something, leaning against one of the trucks. They both grinned at him as he walked over.

"Hey man, went to see you yesterday but you weren't at your tent", Jimmy said. Ben nodded as he took his place by the truck.

"Sorry, just went out in the woods to clear my head."

"Take me with you next time," Dai sighed. "This camp is starting to get to me. Did you know I've been stationed for night sentry duty _two nights in a row_?!"

"Rotten luck," Ben answered.

"I should say so," Jimmy agreed, before rolling his eyes. "If I were you, I'd be getting some sleep then. Kinda stupid to spend all day chatting then all night watching."

"You're probably right," Dai yawned and backed away. "Weaver'll have my head if I'm caught sleeping on the job."

"I actually wouldn't put it past him," Ben muttered as Dai walked away. "The guy's kind of berserk as of late."

Jimmy disguised a laugh as a cough. "Well... can you blame him, really? He's head of a resistance, think of all the anxiety and stuff that's bound to come with it."

"No, I can't blame him at all," his partner replied without any hesitation.

"Your dad's been a bit wound up lately too."

"Really?" Ben took this news with mild surprise. It took a lot to wind up his father.

"Yep, but he's second in command of a resistance. Again, not entirely unexpected."

Ben didn't reply for a minute, looking up at the light grey sky. The sunlight was just beginning to break through, creating a slightly warmer, brighter atmosphere.

He knew it probably wasn't the pressure of his dad's job. It was probably his fault. Or...

"He was taken. By the aliens."

Jimmy stared at him for a moment. "I know..."

Ben could only shake his head, resisting the urge to break into a fit of laughter. He grinned at Jimmy, almost in disbelief. His whole body was shaking from the pressure of containing the laughter, and he barely managed to choke out, "I know you know."

His friend quickly reached out to catch him as Ben's legs buckled underneath him.

He was taken. By the aliens.

Taken. Aliens.

Aliens.

Finally, he couldn't contain it anymore and burst out into peals of laughter. His laughter was loud, vibrant, and Jimmy was too shocked by his sudden outburst to do anything.

Ben seized the collar of his partner's shirt and whispered hoarsely, smile still plastered on his face, "Three months, right?"

Jimmy nodded numbly, gripping his friend's shoulders.

Ben relaxed his grip and slumped once again against the car.

"I needed that." Ben muttered this partly to himself and partly to his dumbstruck comrade beside him. "I needed that."

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He swallowed, throat dry, as he watched his friend walk away calmly, as if nothing had happened. Jimmy shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it, then walked away hesitantly.

Should he tell Dr. Glass? He knew it would probably be wise, but the incident was so sudden. And it was over so fast...

He was worried about Ben. Had been for ages. He saw how not only Ben's physical features were changing, but the things inside, that made him who he was.

When he first met Ben, he was suspicious of him. His head had been stuffed full of that 'razorback' nonsense that had been spreading like wildfire through the camp. It still was, in a way, but silently. Their contempt was hidden through fear, because they had seen what the de-harnessed kids were capable of.

But ever since Ben had ran back to camp and saved them from that 7thMass guy, Jimmy had a kind of respect for him. He wasn't like Rick had been, always dreaming of rejoining the skitters, and he didn't seem at all bothered by all the nasty rumors planted by fearful civilians. He was just a kid, trying to make his way in the new world, just like him.

Now, or so it would seem, the horrors of his life had caught up with him.

Jimmy should have seen this episode coming. When Ben first crashed his bike, he should have seen this coming.

But he hadn't. He had hoped it was a one time thing, and that his best friend was really and truly getting better. Now he realized that Ben had only been pretending.

He always seemed content and carefree when talking to him, and he sought him out on a regular basis. For the past couple of weeks especially, before and after the bike incident, Ben seemed to be making an effort to get passed his newfound depression.

But if anything told him he had been wrong, it would be what happened not five minutes ago.

XXX

A.N. (Hangs head in shame)

Yeah... y'all hate me don't you?

I make you wait months for the next update, and then when I do update, the chapter is ridiculously short and completely without action.

But worry not. The action I have planned will blow your little minds, and my next chapter is already underway, and shall most definitely be longer.

And about the wait, I could give you my long list of excuses, but you're probably not interested are you? So I won't. But I will give y'all a couple links as an apology, one's a Hal Mason spoiler for season three, courtesy of Drew Roy, and the other is the first season three preview!

/falling-skies-season-3-drew-roy-interview/

watch?v=eWnsTJVb4qE

And give a round of applause to NaughtyNettie, she PM ed me and reminded me that it was time to get my ass in gear. As well as doing that, she is also my new uploader! YAY! Many thanks, my friend!

Until next time...

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	16. Breaking Through

_Knowing something useful and refusing to accept it, is just as poisonous to a person as knowing something dangerous and taking it in stride._

- Margaret P. Link

_Three weeks later-_

They were on the move again. Weaver had finally given the all clear, seeing that all patrols were coming back without any alien sightings.

Hal was relieved to be back on the road. His father hadn't actually confined him to bed for the remainder of the year, that of which he was extremely grateful, and Anne had cleared him to return to duty.

So at the present moment, he was riding alongside Maggie, weaving in and out of the trucks.

When his dad had brought her back from her search, she was _beyond _furious. He could practically see the steam shooting out of her ears.

Fortunately for him, after calling him a bunch of names he would rather she hadn't said in front of Matt, she cooled down a bit.

Unfortunately for him, what he now dubbed as his "Ben Situation", still had yet to be resolved.

Hal was starting to get angry with himself, his internal voice screaming at him to tell someone, but something wouldn't let him. He loved Ben to death, and didn't want him to get into trouble.

As childish as that sounded, Ben's relationship with the 2ND Mass was tense as it was. It would cause a boatload of drama and suspicion, heaped on not only Ben, but their entire family.

As long as he was the only one in danger, Hal was willing to take the chance of remaining silent.

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Maggie looked over her shoulder at her partner, noting that he was deep in thought. The small, bitter part of her was hoping he was still mulling over his stupidity from a couple weeks back, but that door was pretty much shut.

Being his partner had taught her a lot about life, and one of the things she learned was the ability to deal with rash behavior. Hal was the kind of guy who thought with his heart, not his head, and that has gotten him into trouble numerous times in the past.

She remembered the time he saw a group of three skitters cornering a little girl when they were on food patrol. Without thinking, he swung a grenade at them, and the girl just managed to duck out of the way. Maggie rolled her eyes, remembering watching his face as he came to the slow realization that that was a pretty dangerous idea. They could laugh about it now, looking back, but she knows Hal was shaken up over it.

Another thing she's learned from him; all people work the same way.

They can all have different philosophies, different religions, different pieces of mind, but all in all, basic human needs and instincts were the same.

So despite what Hal believes, everyone feels guilt and holds grudges. It's just human nature.

He just hasn't accepted it yet.

Looking at him again, she caught him staring at her. Instead of ducking his head in embarrassment, he grinned and waved slightly.

Maggie rolled her eyes again, but couldn't help but smile back. He may feel guilt and things like everyone else, but he holds a unique individuality that has intrigued her since the day they met.

He also causes her stone heart to flutter, in a very not-stone like way.

But she has her emotions that she refuses to accept too.

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Hal's teenaged sized ego boosted slightly at her smile, and he decided to start a conversation.

"So... Maggie...you forgiven me yet?"

She sighed and her face shifted to glare. "You know I'm not one to forgive so easily, Mason."

"Aw, but you love me..."

"Not that big-headedness of yours again."

"Is that a word?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Hal chuckled underneath his breath and shrugged. "Whatever you say. You're always right after all."

"Oh good, your learning."

"I'm a quick learner."

"That's debatable. I heard from Matt it took you a good few months to learn to properly shoot a pistol."

"If you haven't noticed by now, he's a liar."

"A liar? That kid's as sweet as they come."

"That's his disguise. Underneath, he's rotten to the core."

"I'd always thought that was you."

"Aw hell no, I'm all Milky Way's and Almond Joy's!"

"That's also debatable. I heard from Ben that-"

Their easy conversation went on for a while, as they made their way slowly down the winding street-ways. In all honesty, they could have easily walked the majority of it, but both of them loved riding. It gave them a sense of freedom and adrenaline.

Before the attack, Hal's father would never have allowed him to ride a motorcycle. His mom was okay with it, but his dad was stubborn. He said it was a sure way of getting himself killed, and that in many ways it was more dangerous to ride one of those around their neighborhood then it was to ride a tricycle on the freeway.

He called him on his bullshit, using that very word, and got grounded for the next couple of weeks.

He definitely needed to work on his rash behavior.

After the day's journey, they were allowed a night stop. For the past few days, they had a night shift and a day shift, riding through the night. Weaver had decided on that because with all the civilians in tow, their progress was slower than he anticipated. Much slower, in fact, as it felt like the vehicles were just crawling down the cracked asphalt for the main part of the trip.

Hal pulled his bike over and down the side of the road, tall, wet grass clinging to his legs as he walked down. The main vehicles were parked on the road, guards watching the skies, while the daytime soldiers and the civilians went down into the dark, cedar woods. The whole atmosphere of the place was darker then the last stop's was.

Maggie appeared beside him saying, "I think you're family's over there."She pointed a small fire.

Hal took her hand lightly. "Let's go then."

She not so subtly pulled her hand out of his, and didn't look him in the eye when she replied. "Can't. Got stuff to do."

"Yeah right. C'mon." He tugged lightly at her sleeve that time.

"No. Not now. I'll see you later, okay?" She moved away from him and headed back up the overgrown hill.

Hal sighed in disappointment, his heart dropping. Whenever it seems like he might be getting through to her... He shook his head and headed towards his family.

CcCcCcCc

Ben was extremely glad he and Jimmy were on the night-shift.

He always felt more in his element at night anyway, it was just a plus that he could avoid his family too.

Right then, he and Jimmy were sitting in the back of an old Ford, watching the sky.

Jimmy had been avoiding his eyes recently, and looked deeply troubled over something. Repeatedly, Ben asked him what was wrong, but he shook his head and said, "nothing."

He figured it was probably over him, everyone was kind of uneasy when he was around, but Ben really didn't want Jimmy to feel uncomfortable. He was the closest thing to a friend he had.

"I wonder why we haven't seen any aliens recently."

Jimmy looked a little startled, met his eyes briefly, then looked away and shrugged. "Guess they don't care about us right now..."

"But Maggie saw those skitters and mechs in woods... They would have investigated the area by now."

"I guess we got out quick enough."

"One would think if they could get to earth from who knows how far away, and have all that great technology, they would be able to track down a group of humans."

"Who cares? You want them to come or something?"

Ben was affronted by the underlying aggression in his voice. Jimmy hated him too?

" 'Course I don't want them to come."

"Then stop thinking about it. They got their reasons, I'm sure."

Ben got creeping feeling down his spine. What if he was a spy? He certainly wanted him to stop thinking so hard...

"If you're sure." Better to play along, after all. Just in case.

His partner went back to his troubled thoughts after that, whatever those may be about, and Ben returned to his. He knew he wasn't quite right in the head, he wasn't so far gone that he couldn't tell that much, but this was getting a little ridiculous. He was willing to be unable to fully rationalize his hatred for his so called brother, but suspecting Jimmy? Jimmy was his friend. He would never turn on him.

If he couldn't trust his own partner, who could he trust? A funny, fluttering feeling started his chest, and he was unable to breathe properly. Refusing to have a panic attack, he turned where Jimmy wouldn't be able to see him, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Breathe. In and out. In and out.

He repeated the thought until he got his breathing under control. Without causing a scene, thank God.

If Jimmy was a traitor, it wouldn't do to have him aware of his weakness.

Ben reopened his eyelids, and saw something in the woods.

A pair of icy blue eyes.

They disappeared as quickly as he saw them, but it was enough to cause him to jerk backwards. He hit Jimmy, who reflexively pushed him away. Then he stuttered, "y-you... you alright, man?"

Nervous eyes met his, and he stared into them. Jimmy's eyes were familiar, very familiar... just like the ones in the woods.

Ben apologized and smiled somewhat reassuringly at Jimmy, before turning back to the trees.

Where had he seen those eyes before?

**A.N. Wooooow, I suck don't I?! XD Y'all, just don't listen to my update promises, okay? I'm kind of on a writing role right now, as I've finally began the actual plot, but I refuse to get your hopes up. **

**Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed, it just makes my day to see those in my inbox!**

**And I apologize in advance for grammatical errors. I can't STAND bad grammar, but I'm terrible at picking through what I've written and fixing them.**

**Also, just as a heads up, no matter how long I don't update a story, I will ALWAYS finish. I'm sure I've said this before, but this is a reminder. I'm very excited about the what I have for this story, and I'm sure Hal People, like me, and Ben People alike will get pretty into it! **

**Until next time,**

**2ndMass**


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